George W. Bush, King of Iraq

On Tuesday, June 6, 2006 (06-06-06 or 666 for short), I wrote a post “Is George Bush the 666 (the Antichrist),” which has been the most popular and the most visited post in my blog. Every day people visit this post and many of them leave comments in favor or against the view that George Bush is the Antichrist.

I have answered many of the comments, but several others have been left unanswered. The reason for this is that some of the comments are so off the wall that I did not have the heart to answer. But, in the light of the few last comments, I have decided to answer some of the views left on the post.

Here are some examples of the comments about George Bush and the Antichrist:

Mairia cb48 wrote:

For many come saying "Christ, Christ and know him not and the Baptists hardly live out Ephesians 5 and 6 so they would fall for Bush being a real Christian.

Bush does not bow his head upon Christ's name nor do what Jesus could do and that is never pick up guns and go to war so Little Horn he just could be as this nation is so lukewarm after the King James and the missing books it would fall for Bush as a Christian.

Book of revelations warns never to add or subtract from the book of god and the protestors a/k/a protesting the covenants of g-d rebellion still goes on.

Read Isaiah 1:21-23 if you want to see us in living black and white.

All our protesting rebellious princes are our presidents and they are representative of the throne continued since king henry viii with the terrorism of divorce allowed still in our land.

Now, what can I say about this comment. She goes on talking about abortion, America as Sodom and Gomorrah, and comparing Bushism with fascism and socialism. To this reader, the real evidence that Bush is the Antichrist is because he allowed abortion to continue while he was the governor of Texas. If abortion is the mark of the Antichrist, then there are many Antichrists living in the world today.

A reader named John wrote:

The Risen Chirst [sic] is the Antichirst, the first beast that had the fatal wound that had been healed. Paul of Tarsus was his false prophet, the second beast who was servent [sic] to the first beast and extended its authority everywhere, making the world and all its people worship the first beast. If you don't believe me, read the Bible and no! you will not die if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods.

John must either be a secularist, an atheist, or someone who hates Christianity. If by reading the Bible, as he says, one discovers that the Risen Christ is the Antichrist and that Paul of Tarsus was his false prophet, then I wonder how he reads the Bible. However, since he uses the words of the serpent when he wrote that by reading the Bible one’s eyes are open and one becomes like gods, maybe John is, paraphrasing Blake here, on the side of the devil and he does not know it.

An anonymous reader wrote:

I have read Hatchett's book and have found it to be extremely accurate. I am also a Baptist. Although, W is not Mabus (because Mabus first dies, then the antichrist is revealed) I do believe W is the antichrist. He will fool even the elect, so stay on guard at all times. Pray for everything. Believe in God above all else.

For those who do not know Mabus, he is the Antichrist in the writings of Nostradamus. In modern apocalyptic writings, Mabus has become the anagram for the Antichrist. Some people have identified George Bush with Mabus. This reader believes that George Bush is the Antichrist and that he is deceiving many people.

This was my response to this comment:

Dear Anonymous,

If you believe that Hatchett's book is extremely accurate, then, you either misread what he wrote or else you want to believe what he wrote. You say that you believe W is the Antichrist. When January 2009 comes, you will discover how wrong you are.

Another reader, F&B wrote:

Clearly, George Bush is not the anti-christ. One person, however, that we really should keep a close eye on is Barack Obama. That guy is really scary. He can talk for an hour, have everyone in the room agreeing with him, and never say a thing of any substance.

I just wonder if the name Barack Obama adds to 666. Probably, what makes some people think Barack Obama is the Antichrist is because he has an infamous middle name: Hussein.

Anonymous wrote:

george walker busche(actual spelling of his name, in english, numerically is: 666) is the antichrist. he has turned nation against nation, regular american people against each other, he has killed countless people and small animals. He talks peace out of one side of his mouth, and death and war out of the other. MABUS(Suddam, anagram for MABUS) has been hung, now or shortly, the antichrist will show his true colors and you will all know what I have suspected all along. Pray and be alert all you elect.

I wrote an answer to this anonymous:

Dear Anonymous,

You and all those who say that George Bush is the Antichrist need to study your Bible a little bit more. Two years from now when Bush leaves the White House and becomes just another ex-President, you and all those who believe that he is the 666 will have a lot of explaining to do. It is because of people who misinterpret the Bible that the world laughs at the church and Christianity.

Anonymous responded to my comment and what he wrote explains the title of my post today. Anonymous wrote:

Don't get me wrong Dr. I'm not saying that he needs to be the president of anything. He has enough henchmen and money to set him up in any position of government or religion or both at any time. He may leave office and go to Israel as an embassador or something and set himself up there. We are not sure what his actual plans are for the following years. Expect anything from someone who talks peace out of one side of his mouth and war and killing out of the other side. I have read and listened to the entire Bible in book form and through CDs for many years. I don't necessarily believe in learning a book a verse here and there at a time. A verse may be taken out of context and the verse may loose it's true meaning. No where in the Bible is the word rapture found. There is some talk of being "caught up" in Luke and some other New Testament books. This I give as an example of the misinterpretation of the Bible by various religious beliefs, not necessarily quoted directly from the Bible. There are many examples of this.

Maybe Bush intends to make himself the King of Iraq, who knows? Just keep a watch and be on guard.

That’s it! The reason George W. Bush is the Antichrist and the reason he invaded Iraq is because George W. Bush wants to become King of Iraq.

It is amazing what people want to believe. Those who are predisposed to believe that George W. Bush is the Antichrist will believe anything else that is presented to them. These and the other comments reveal how gullible some Christians are and how weak their knowledge of the Bible really is.

Many people read the Bible but they cannot understand what they read. To them the Bible is a book full of mysteries that demand explanation and the more esoteric the explanation, the better the explanation becomes.

I do not believe for a moment that George W. Bush is the Antichrist. In a future post I will look at a few more comments and then explain once again the reason I do not believe Bush is the Antichrist.

George W. Bush, the King of Iraq. Amazing!

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: 666, Antichrist, George Bush