Abstract
The figure of Antichrist, linked in recent US apocalyptic thought to President Barack Obama, forms a central component of Christian end-times scenarios, both medieval and modern. Envisioned as a false-messiah, deceptive miracle-worker, and prophet of evil, Antichrist inversely embodies many of the qualities and characteristics associated with Max Weber’s concept of charisma. This essay explores early Christian, medieval, and contemporary depictions of Antichrist and the imagined political circumstances of his reign as manifesting the notion of (anti)charisma, compelling but misleading charismatic political and religious leadership oriented toward damnation rather than redemption.
Highlights
Obama, Antichrist, and WeberOn 4 November 2012, just two days before the most recent US presidential election, Texas “Megachurch” pastor Robert Jeffress (1956– ) proclaimed that a vote for the incumbent candidateBarack Obama (1961– ) represented a vote for the coming of Antichrist
“President Obama is not the Antichrist,” Jeffress qualified to his listeners, “But what I am saying is this: the course he is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the future reign of Antichrist” [1]
One popular email-chain that made the rounds in the fall 2008 alerted readers, referring to the Book of Revelation as its source: “The anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to Religions 2013, 4 him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy everything
Summary
On 4 November 2012, just two days before the most recent US presidential election, Texas “Megachurch” pastor Robert Jeffress (1956– ) proclaimed that a vote for the incumbent candidate. I was born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the Planet Earth” [12] For his opponents, this very idea of the president as a redemptive figure precisely illustrates the danger he poses to American society and provides vivid proof of Obama’s Antichrist-like qualities—his ability to deceive the masses, tricking them into thinking that he is a messiah who can redeem the world. This very idea of the president as a redemptive figure precisely illustrates the danger he poses to American society and provides vivid proof of Obama’s Antichrist-like qualities—his ability to deceive the masses, tricking them into thinking that he is a messiah who can redeem the world His very charismatic appeal condemns him, revealing him to be a false-messiah, whose meteoric rise to power portends evil deeds before the end of all things
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