April 26, 2011: House Resolution Successfully Lobbied for by Group Whose Leader Says Obama Is the Antichrist

The Bible Nation Society logo. [Source: Bible Nation Society / Vimeo (.com)]A group that successfully pushed for a House resolution commemmorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible is revealed to be led by a pastor who claims President Obama may be the Antichrist. House Representatives Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced a resolution expressing the House’s “gratitude” for the “influence” the King James Bible (KJV) has had on “countless families, individuals, and institutions in the United States.” The two were lobbied by the small, non-profit Bible Nation Society (BNS) of Corunna, Michigan. The BNS is led by Douglas Levesque, the pastor of Corunna’s Immanuel Baptist Church. At the organization’s 2010 Bible in Culture Conference, Levesque preached on the “Antichrist Quotient,” in which he laid out a detailed theory that stated Obama might be the Antichrist. Levesque told conference members that “God has given us a purposeful ambiguity around” the Antichrist, then proceeded to offer what he apparently believes is evidence that Obama might be the Antichrist, or is at least anti-Christian. Levesque accused Obama of “twist[ing] the word of God” and said, “the Antichrist Quotient goes up above and beyond for someone who would so blatantly attack the word of God.” He added, “This man offends me, this man offends my God.” Levesque offered a number of parallels to material from the Book of Revelation: Obama’s motorcade vehicle is jokingly nicknamed “The Beast,” the name Barack “means thunder and lightning,” and the name of Obama’s then-chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, means “lightning, God with us.” Levesque concluded: “Why doesn’t Obama answer the questions about his citizenship? Why doesn’t he answer questions about his faith? Why doesn’t he answer the questions about his bisexuality, his homosexuality, his drug use?… Because he has a mouth speaking great lying things.” Neither Aderholt nor Rahall have said if they publicly support, or repudiate, Levesque’s statements. [Religion Dispatches (.org), 4/26/2011]