Herman Cain (Getty)

Herman Cain wears many hats. He’s a former CEO, politician, columnist, poet and, according to conspiracy theorists in deep, dark corners of the internet, he just might be the antichrist. 

Though the concept of an antichrist is mentioned only three times in the Bible, it has become a central element of many Christian apocalyptic prophecies. Recently, theories that Mr. Cain is the antichrist have surfaced in several online forums, on Facebook, YouTube and multiple times in the center of all intelligent discussion on the internet, Yahoo Answers. Believers mainly cite Mr. Cain’s last name and his “9-9-9 tax plan.”

In the old testament, Cain is one of the two sons of Adam and Eve and he is the first human to commit murder after he kills his brother Abel. According to the Christian Book of Revelations, the number “666″ is the “mark of the beast,” a creature that gathers armies to fight against God. Many of those who believe Mr. Cain is a harbinger of the apocalypse point out that “9-9-9″ becomes “666″ when inverted. Mr. Cain’s opponent, Michele Bachmann, referenced this during the Republican debates October 11.

“When you take the ’9-9-9 Plan’ and you turn it upside down, I think the devil’s in the details,” Ms. Bachmann said.

Stratus9, a user on the conspiracy forum AboveTopSecret posted perhaps the longest and most detailed summary of purported connections between Mr. Cain and the antichrist mythos.

“The name ‘Herman’ is from Hari-Mann translated from the old Germanic ‘Army Man’ or ‘Leader of the Army’. … In Greek and Jewish translations, ‘Cain’ refers to the Son of Satan. … Herman Cain’s full name means Leader of the Army of Satan. … Cain’s speaking ability is touted by many to have a ‘miraculous’ capability to turn people to his way of thinking,” Stratus9 wrote.

So far, the Herman Cain antichrist theory doesn’t seem to have reached full on meme status. Google Insight for Search has no estimate of how many internet users searched for the phrase “Herman Cain Antichrist” in the past year because there’s “Not enough search volume.” As contrast, “Obama antichrist” is a rather popular search.

Follow Hunter Walker on Twitter or via RSS. hwalker@observer.com