Prophecies for Our Time?

Somebody (not a part of our church) forwarded to me an email that they had received, in which a "rabbi" put forward these premises:

1. The Hebrew word Barak means "lightning." Bamah is "high place, or heights."
2. Isaiah 14:14 records words often ascribed to Lucifer (though not explicitly attributed to him in the text): "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
3. In Luke 10:18, Jesus says, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
4. In Matthew 24:27, Jesus says, "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

I don't think I have to tell you his conclusion(s).

Here's how I responded to my friend:

Dear [Name],

I wouldn't put much stock in it. Do you remember when people counted the letters in Ronald Wilson Reagan and realized it was 666?

Barak, as noted in the email that you saw, is a biblical name, and it does mean "lightning." It was the name of the victorious military leader of the Israelites at the time Deborah was a judge. He doesn't seem exactly heroic in Judges 4, but he does get a mention in Hebrews 11:32 toward the end of the list of Old Testament men and women of exemplary faith. So, one could just as easily argue that the Bible predicts that President Obama will be a hero, but I'd say they were using their Bible rather poorly. I don't think he'll be either the messiah some people seem to think he is, or the antichrist that others fear he'll be.

The bigger issue here is that biblical prophecy does not work as a secret code. Yes, some things are obscure and symbolic, but we're a lot better off sticking to passages that directly describe what the antichrist will be like, not piecing together words into a composite picture that men have fabricated from their often wild imaginations.

And, we're supposed to be ready for Christ's return all the time anyway, so it's not that much difference.

Bruce