Ever since Barack Obama arrived on the national scene back in 2004, there's been all sorts of false rumors thrown around about him that continue to be believed by some despite all real evidence to the contrary. One theory, however, has been a bit more sinister than labeling Obama as a Muslim or unpatriotic: maybe Barack Obama is the Antichrist.

Bantering about Obama being the latest candidate for Antichrist persisted during the campaign, but has picked up renewed steam since his election last Tuesday. Google search has surged with the key words "Obama Antichrist." Numerous Christians have speculated on their blogs that Obama just may be the Antichrist. When Obama delivered his victory speech last Tuesday before a large adoring crowd, and foreigners celebrated overseas, one friend wrote on Facebook, "I cannot separate these events from the book of Revelation." Numerous other Christians blogged or communicated the same thoughts that evening.

But let's get a few facts straight first about the Biblical "Antichrist." First of all, the book of Revelation (and it's Revelation in the singular, not "Revelations" as its often misspelled) never once uses the word "Antichrist," yet this is supposed to be his lengthiest reference in Scripture. Revelation was written towards the end of the first century to Christians going through fierce tribulation and persecution at the hands of the imperial Roman Empire, and a couple of particularly nasty Caesars, such as Nero and later Domitian. Modern interpretation of Revelation has fast-forwarded the entire book into the remote future, with the bulk of its events taking place after the "rapture," a theologically fictitious concept nobody in church history believed before the 19th century. In this scenario, God is pouring out his wrath on the unbelieving earth, which later comes under the control of the "Antichrist."