There is a bogeyman or hobgoblin many of us have been taught to fear for about 2,000 years. People have been expecting for several thousand years that there will be a messiah, a savior who would bring prosperity, love and peace for everyone, with an end to pain, misery, hunger and worry. One messiah has been accepted by billions of people, who anticipate his return.
There are several possibilities. One: The true messiah comes, is accepted, fulfills the most ambitious prophesy and make everybody feel high. The world becomes peaceful and prosperous with no suffering. Two: A messiah comes and is not overwhelmingly recognized, or is not as powerful as hoped for. Nothing really changes, just another dichotomy to argue over. Three: A messiah never comes. Four: A false messiah appears. There have been a few. He, maybe she, comes masquerading as the true messiah of course. His followers would agree and proclaim him as the chosen one and he would endorse them. He would claim to have the solution to every problem. Know the answer to every question, but seldom reveal those answers. Some skeptics will call him the Antichrist. One who will act as Satan’s chief agent on earth. The Antichrist will seek control of the world with policies like unlimited authority, universal tariffs, rigid borders and limitations on personal liberty. Long established rights will be overturned for political advantage.
The false messiah will seek an autocratic one-world government through promises of peace, while proscribing all opposition. Promising peace to those who follow him, but never explain how this will be accomplished he will rise to great power. With the help of his own false prophets, a cult of personality, blind to any faults, contradictions or deviations from the prophecy. He may advertise that our borders are open while complaining about the number of border crossers.
Such a singular power raises the danger of one-man rule, with no check, no balance,
It can make huge mistakes like: Building Chernobyl without a containment vessel. Napoleon attacking vast Russia with 200,000 soldiers and returning with just 40,000 survivors. Not a victory, even by pyrrhic comparison.
A messiah was promised in the Old Testament. Many people have become believers in a messiah in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. Many of the biblical prophecies came true, many promises were fulfilled. There is no doubt that the world today is better than the world of the Old Testament or even 1930. Human lives matter, starvation is rare, comfort is considered the norm in most countries. Capital punishment is rare, cannibalism and human sacrifice are almost unheard of.
The job was not completed though. The Roman empire was too powerful, a self-serving entity, brutal and ruthless. Anything could be sacrificed for the benefit of the few at the top of the power pyramid. Maybe humanity was not ready then for a messianic age.
A sure way for would be saviors to get noticed now is to describe or predict a crisis at our southern border. Invasion is a popular extremist description. How bad is it and what can actually be done? Advertising “Open Borders” without offering a viable solution aggravates the problem. Is that a form of treason? The influx is about 2 million people a year, compared to our population of 350 million, that’s 0.57 percent. 2 million a year means immigrants will double our current population in only 175 years, but the original population traditionally doubles every 20 years, 5.0 percent. After a few years those immigrants become Americans, because they assimilate. So, there might be maybe a couple billion Americans and a few million new immigrants, or maybe not. What’s wrong with that prediction? India will have more people on half the land or maybe not. Making predictions is difficult, especially about the future.
Jesus prophesied his own return. All politicians make promises, including claims to be the chosen one. There are some today who seem to me to fit one definition or the other, you decide.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Send feedback to obenskik@gmail.com