McCain the Antichrist?

By Robert Dreyfuss

08/08/08 "The Nation" -- - -Biblical scholars in Colorado Springs have
uncovered startling evidence that Senator John McCain may be the Antichrist.
Their conclusions, while highly controversial, may have a dramatic impact on
the 2008 elections, since many Bible-believing Christians have already
expressed doubts about McCain's fealty to Christianity.

The analysis was conducted by the respected True Bible Society, and it
will be published next month in the End Times Journal.

The analysis was especially ironic, given that it came out just one
day after McCain was accused of subtly hinting that Barack Obama could be
the Antichrist. McCain ran a commercial depicting Obama as "The One," giving
rise to charges that he was sending a subliminal messages to anti-Obama
Christians.

"What started us looking at this issue is the fact that Senator McCain
has declared his intention to maintain US forces in Iraq for a hundred
years," said David Jenkins, a leading Biblical scholar. "That means that
McCain wants to control Babylon for at least a century." According to many
scholars of the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist will try to rebuild the
ancient city of Babylon in order to use it as a springboard for an
international effort at world domination. Ultimately, the Antichrist will
marshal forces from Babylon to spark a showdown with Christian and
Jewish-led forces in the battle of Armageddon.

"We believe that the End Times is near, based on the pattern of wars,
earthquakes. and other strange phenomena we've been witnessing since the
start of the New Millennium," said Jenkins. "Given that it may be imminent,
the person who controls Babylon must be the Antichrist." Until 2003, many
Christians believed that Saddam Hussein might be the Antichrist, since he
started excavations to restore Babylon in the mid 1970s. But Hussein's death
meant that the Antichrist is someone else. Since Obama wants to get out of
Iraq, he can't be the Antichrist either, concluded Jenkins.

Jenkins said his teams suspicions were further heightened when
genealogical research showed that McCain's great-grandfather was actually
not John McCain, but John Mihai. Mihai is an ancient Romanian name, and
according to Bible-believing Christians, the Antichrist is likely to be a
Romanian. "What clinched it for us was that the name Mihai means 'who is
like the Lord,'" said Jenkins. "As far as we're concerned, that was enough.
It means that McCain might easily pretend to be the Redeemer."

McCain's geniality and folksiness are consistent with his being the
Antichrist, Jenkins said. "Many people think that the Antichrist will be a
evil-seeming leader, but in fact the Bible tells us that he will be
charming."

So far the McCain campaign has refused to comment on Jenkins' study.

Robert Dreyfuss, a Nation contributing editor, is an investigative
journalist in Alexandria, Virginia, specializing in politics and national
security. He is the author of Devil's Game: How the United States Helped
Unleash Fundamentalist Islam and is a frequent contributor to Rolling Stone,
The American Prospect, and Mother Jones.

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