President Obama and the Spirit of Lawlessness

President Barack’s Obama stunning political pandering for the Hispanic vote this week–granting amnesty to the children of illegal aliens by executive fiat–gives us another window into the soul of the world’s most powerful leader.

The picture is not pretty–and is actually quite scary.

The primary role of any chief executive, the ultimate position being the president of the United States, is to enforce the rule of law. That’s what he or she swears an oath of office to do.

But this president now seems to be making it a habit to choose which laws he desires to enforce. He is acting like a king or dictator, not the servant of law, freedom, and order.

The Bible calls this a “spirit of lawlessness,” and there are grave consequences associated with it.

I’d like to share a lengthy Scripture passage that talks about this spirit in detail. A “spirit” is either a heavenly being such as a demon that possesses a rebellious mind-set toward God, or a human attitude that mirrors the same. Let’s discuss the human side today.

Before we look at the Scripture, I want to make one thing clear: I am not in any way equating our president with the biblical Anti-Christ who is mentioned in this passage. Yes, there will be an anti-Christ global leader one day, but it’s also true that there are many anti-Christ attitudes and people in the world (1 John 2:18). It’s a mind-set–an attitude toward authority.

And all people, including myself, can participate in a lawless mind-set that is at war with the purposes of God. None of us are above it. We can all take on an anti-Christ attitude–if we choose to do so.

In this case, we’re analyzing the mind-set of the president of the United States. Remember that as you reflect on Paul’s words:

“For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed–the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy every god there is and tear down every object of adoration and worship. He will position himself in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. Don’t you remember that I told you this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.”

“For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus Christ will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on the way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies. Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.”

“As for us, we always thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are thankful that God chose you be among the first to experience salvation, a salvation that came through the Spirit and by your belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-13 – New Living Translation).

This is a long passage with many insights. Notice a number of pertinent facts:

• Lawlessness grows like a weed when people have rebellious hearts (verse 3).
• There is a pride thing involved in lawlessness where we make ourselves “God” by the arrogant things we do (verse 4).
• Satan himself is behind the spirit of lawlessness (verse 9).
• People who share in the lawless mind-set are deceived because they are rejecting the truth (verses 10, 11).
• Lawlessness and its poison will be directly destroyed by Jesus one day (verse 9).

Now let’s return to our American president for whom all of us are praying.

Over the past three and a half years., President Obama, as an executive leader, has increasingly participated in a spirit of lawlessness related to his responsibilities.

An early instance related to immigration when his Administration sued the state of Arizona over its newly passed immigration law. Arizona wanted its borders protected and defended. The federal government wasn’t doing it, so Governor Jan Brewer and the legislature took matters in their own hands and passed a necessary law. The Obama Administration cried “foul,” and tied up the state in court. At the same time, the president made it known through Attorney General Eric Holder that the feds would not perform their duties. They didn’t like the law–they needed Latino votes–and wouldn’t enforce it.

A spirit of lawlessness.

Next up was the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which protects the five thousand year institution of marriage in all fifty states. In brazen defiance of this law passed by President Clinton, the Obama White House told Congress that it would no longer prosecute violations of DOMA. In the beginning, this refusal was bad enough. But when the president recently came out of the closet endorsing homosexual marriage, it was finally understood that he wanted to change the definition of marriage–and to heck with the laws of the land!

A spirit of lawlessness.

The president also made a priority in his first term to try and pass Cap & Trade–a draconian strangulation of the environment and energy use under the guise of curbing global warming. Congress refused the legislation, so the Obama Administration ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do the same thing via a drip-feed method of agency policy. This move was a blatant end-around to circumvent the laws of Congress.

A spirit of lawlessness.

The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), but I am expecting that either the entire law will be struck down or, at least, the individual mandate which forces them to buy health care against their will. The entire bill was pushed through Congress in a lawless fashion with bribes, back room deals, and deliberate confusion (Nancy Pelosi famously said they’d have to approve the bill so we could then find out what was in it).

The Obama Administration knew from the beginning that it was lawless–against the Constitution of the United States. But they wasted a year of our time–not helping the flagging economy–because the goal of lawlessness is dominating other people’s lives (tyranny). The end was worth the means to an Administration that wanted to grab control of one-sixth of the world’s largest economy.

A spirit of lawlessness.

This week the President of the United States stood in the White House Rose Garden and announced to the nation that children of illegal aliens, sixteen and under, would be granted special rights to work and live in America. Actually, it’s a good policy. I’m a supporter of the DREAM Act which would not have penalized children for the sins of their parents. That’s fair, a no-brainer and very biblical (Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:20).

But again–the end doesn’t not justify the means. Congress makes the laws in this nation. Not the president. Yes, he can release executive orders in various categories, but not change the standing of American law. His job is to convince Congress of the right direction to go, and their enforce the laws they enact.

Anything less is haughty, rebellious, and dereliction of duty. It is an anti-God spirit that promotes its own will over that or others. It is the opposite of the spirit of the Kingdom of God which includes humility, selflessness, submission, and obedience to loving authority (Romans 14:17).

Family Research Council had it right when they described the president’s spirit of lawlessness:

“When Americans elected Barack Obama, they believed they were voting for a chief executive. What they got is a chief legislator and chief justice. If the administration doesn’t like a law, they call it unconstitutional and ignore it. If they can’t pass a policy democratically, they enact it anyway…The pattern of abuses is so out of hand that even media outlets like Politico are suggesting that the President’s ‘policy strategy’ is ‘ignore laws.”‘

“In the end, today’s debate isn’t about immigration. It’s a debate about the limits of executive authority — a conversation that goes back some 237 years. Our founding fathers shed a lot of blood to avoid what this White House increasingly resembles — a monarchy with absolute power. While the President can try to bypass the law, one thing he cannot bypass is voters. And ultimately, his interpretation of the separation of powers will be subject to the ultimate checks and balances: November 6 ballots.”

There is a lawless spirit operating in the highest echelons of the current White House. The last time this happened in these hallowed quarters was under the tenure of Richard Nixon, a Republican. He also thought he was above the law and could do what he pleased. His presidency crashed and burned. I voted for Nixon in my first swipe as an adult citizen. I regret my naive vote.

Now we have a Democrat who clearly manifests a spirit of lawlessness. Most of his lawless deeds are rooted in narcissism–a quest for personal power and aggrandizement. It is a scary moment for the American Republic. For when a your leader is lawless then the people are unrestrained.

A nation without the rule of law devolves into chaos. Is that the American future? I hope not.

Exercise your own self-control (and wisdom) by voting correctly on November 6.