And he was eaten by worms and died...

So ends the story of Herod Agrippa. I would like to dedicate the following section of Eusebius' The Church History to Jamie Foxx, and his "Lord and Savior, Barack Obama." It tells the story of how Herod Agrippa was worshiped as a god, and because he did not rebuke the people, was struck down by God on the spot. President Obama, if he has any sense, will immediately tell Jamie Foxx that he stepped way out of line. Listen to what happened to Agrippa (Eusebius, pp. 67-68):

"Divine justice brought swift retribution to the king for his plots against the apostles, as Acts records. he had gone to Caesarea, and there on a feast day, adorned in magnificent royal attire, he delivered an address while standing on a dais in front of his throne. The entire audience applauded his address as if it were delivered by a god, not a man but the inspired Word reports than an angel of the Lord struck him instantly, and he was eaten by worms and died (Acts 12:19-23). It is astonishing how this marvel in the divine Scripture is supported also by Josephus in Antiquities, Book 19, where he relates the amazing story in the following words [which I snip for sake of space]:

On the second day of the games he put on a rove woven entirely of silver, a remarkable fabric, and entered the theater at the beginning of the day. When the silver reflected the first glint of the sun's rays it glittered so dazzlingly
that those who gazed at it were terrified. His flatterers immediately shouted on all sides--though hardly for his benefit--and addressed him as a god, saying, "Be gracious! Until now we have revered you as a man, but henceforth we confess that you are of more than mortal nature." The king did not reprimand them or reject their blasphemous flattery.

A moment later he looked up and saw an angel sitting above his head. This he immediately perceived to be a messenger of evil as it had once been of good. he felt an instant pain in his heart and a growing agony in his stomach. looking at his friends, he said, "I, your god, am now ordered to surrender my life, since fate has instantly disproved the lies you just uttered about me....

 While he was saying this, the intensity of his pain grew overwhelming, so he was quickly carried into the palace, and the news spread that he would surely die shortly....After being tortured by stomach pains for five days, he passed away int eh seventh year of his reign at age fifty-four."

 The Bible adds, very succinctly, what the cause of the pain was. Worms. A few quick lessons. First, political flatterers are as timeless as worms, feeding off what their host has to offer. Second, no creature should have the hubris to allow such foolish deifying speech to go unchallenged--even when that speech is clearly blather. Third, if you take upon yourself the prerogatives of God, and if you snatch at his glory, He will not leave you unpunished.