WHO IS THE ANTICHRIST ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE

The Antichrist

The antichrist is a religious leader who will oppose the Word of God and teach men to also oppose God’s Word and will establish his own doctrine to mislead men to incur God's wrath and destruction. The antichrist will ordain himself (call himself) as God and force men to obey and worship him. He will reign for a short period according to the Bible.

Antichrist, the polar opposite and ultimate enemy of Christ. According to Christian tradition, he will reign terribly in the period prior to the Last judgment. The term Antichrist first appeared in the Letters of John (1 John 2:18, 2:22, and 4:3; 2 John 1:7)

The Antichrist was revealed in The book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible. Written about 167 BCE, it foretold the coming of a final persecutor who would “speak great words against the Highest and wear out the saints of the Highest, and think to change times and laws” (Dan. 7:24-26).

The four books of the New Testament that talked about the Antichrist were the first two epistles of John, the Revelation to John, and the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. The first three of these were written near the end of the 1st century CE; the last was written either by St. Paul the Apostle shortly after 50 CE or by one of Paul’s immediate disciples some 20 or 30 years later. Neither 2 Thessalonians nor Revelation uses the term Antichrist, but both works refer to a coming persecutor who is evidently the same person. The first epistle of John introduces an important distinction between “the” Antichrist who will come and the many antichrists who are already active in the world.

This distinction not only enabled believers to denigrate contemporaries as “antichrists” without having to label a single individual as “the” Antichrist but also allowed them to identify the “body of Antichrist” as a collectivity existing in the present but destined to have its day of triumph in the future.

Reject the Antichrist

Nevertheless, the Bible emphasizes the coming of the one great Antichrist. The Revelation to John refers to this figure as “the Beast from the Abyss” (11:7) and “the Beast from the Sea” (13:1). In the most sustained account of his appearance, 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, he is called “the man of sin” and “son of perdition.” He will come at a time of general apostasy, deceive people with signs and wonders, sit in the temple of God, and claim to be God himself. Finally, he will be defeated by Jesus, who will destroy him by “the spirit of his mouth” and “the brightness of his coming” (2:8).

Antichrist is the parodic opposite of Christ in all things. (Antichrist literally means “opposed to Christ.”) Thus, as Christ was born of a virgin by means of conception by the Holy Spirit, so Antichrist will be born of a whore by means of conception by a diabolical spirit. Although opinions differed as to whether Antichrist’s father will be a man or a demon, in either case Antichrist will be, as commonly noted in the Middle Ages, “full of the devil” from the time of his conception.

Both Christ and Antichrist are born of the Jews, but Antichrist will be born of the tribe of Dan—“the viper in the road” (Genesis 49:17)—rather than the tribe of Judah, and in Babylon, not Bethlehem. Like Christ, Antichrist will grow up in obscurity and begin his open “ministry” at age 30, gaining followers by giving signs and performing miracles. The signs and miracles once more are polar opposites of Christ’s, because Antichrist’s supposed miracles will be only tricks.

Antichrist’s triumphant reign (never clearly distinguished from the start of his ministry) will last for three and a half years. Like Christ, Antichrist will come to Jerusalem, but, as the opposite of Christ, he will be enthusiastically hailed and revered by the Jews. During his reign, he will rebuild the Temple and sit on the throne of Solomon in a sacrilegious and hideous inversion of just priesthood and just kingship. He will convert the rulers of the earth to his cause and persecute Christians dreadfully.

All those who resist his wiles will be tortured, and—as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:21—there will be “great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now.” The two great prophets Enoch and Elijah, who never died but were spirited away to the earthly paradise, will arrive to preach against the tyrant and comfort the elect, but Antichrist will slay them. At the end of the allotted three and a half years, however, Antichrist will be destroyed by the power of Christ, whereupon, after a very brief interval, there will come the Last Judgment and the end of the world.

The Antichrist Revealed in Revelation 12

The Mystery of the Antichrist

SUMMARY

The Antichrist Revealed in Revelation 12 has been written as a teaching syllabus to inform mankind about a certain spirit being an enemy. This spirit being enemy has caused catastrophic events upon the earth and mankind for eons. The history of this spirit being an enemy is written in the book called the Bible. Most people think of the Bible as a fairy tale, but it is an accurate account of all spiritual beings in the universe. God, the angels, and man are all spirit beings. God the Creator, created the angels and man in a spiritual image. In the beginning, the God of heaven created heaven and the earth, with all their spirit beings. Lucifer is a created being who lived in heaven as an archangel.

Scripture passages of the bible reveal that the angel Lucifer, a servant of the God of heaven, was assigned as a covering for the spirit beings of mankind upon the earth. During the course of his duty upon the earth, Lucifer desired a lifestyle outside the realm of the kingdom of God for himself and fulfilled it by way of trafficking. Trafficking became the sin of Lucifer's downfall from the status of an angel created perfectly in his ways by God, to an angel full of iniquity, rebellion, and violence, which lead to his outcast from heaven to the earth. Lucifer uses his state of iniquity, rebellion, and violence to wreak havoc upon mankind with the intent to annihilate man from the face of the earth by any means possible.

The God of heaven has revealed Lucifer to be the great dragon, the serpent called the Devil, and Satan. Satan means adversary or enemy. Lucifer made himself an enemy to his Creator, the God of heaven. During the short time that the God of heaven has given man to redeem himself through His Christ, Lucifer aka Satan will take this opportunity to deceive the whole world. Man must redeem himself from Lucifer because Lucifer usurped control over the earth and Adam's posterity in the garden of Eden to cause his iniquity, rebellion, and violence to prosper through man.

The creation of man began in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:7-14). Lucifer rules the earth and man from the invisible spirit realm and has set up his spiritual headquarters over the Media-Persian nations (Isaiah 14:13-14, Psalm 48:2). Lucifer aka Satan, the destroyer in the kingdom of God, is the Savior of mankind, and the man of God. Lucifer will bring upon the earth his fourth catastrophe, the tribulation war of the seals, which will be certainly located in the Media-Persian nations. Lucifer will be fighting against the eviction from the earth realm and using men as arsenals of warfare for their own destruction. The stage for the tribulation war is being set imminently. This war will bring destruction and desolation to all nations upon the earth.

The events of this catastrophe have been outlined from beginning to end in the scriptures. Lucifer has been sentenced in the past as the destroyer of the earth and mankind by the God of heaven for his iniquities, rebellions, and violence. The book "The Antichrist Revealed in Revelation 12" puts this generation of the world in the know about their foretold present and future upon the earth. The prophecies of God, or foretold present and future upon the earth. The prophecies of God or foretold messages of God were sent to mankind through the prophets, to reveal the end time for all nations.

The Antichrist representative

The term pseudokhristos or "false Christ" is also found in the Gospels.^[3] In Matthew (chapter 24) and Mark (chapter 13), Jesus alerts his disciples not to be deceived by the false prophets, who will claim themselves as being Christ, performing "great signs and wonders".^[4][5][6] Three other images often associated with the singular Antichrist are the "little horn" in Daniel's final vision, the "man of sin" in Paul the Apostle's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, and the Beast of the Sea in the Book of Revelation.

Etymology

Antichrist is translated from the combination of two ancient Greek words ἀντί + Χριστός (anti + Christos). In Greek, Χριστός means "anointed one" and the word Christ derives from it.^[10] "Ἀντί" means not only anti in the sense of "against" and "opposite of", but also "in place of".^[11][12]

History

New Testament[edit]

Whether the New Testament contains an individual Antichrist is disputed. The Greek term antikhristos originates in 1 John.^[13] The similar term pseudokhristos ("False Messiah") is also first found in the New Testament, but never used by Josephus in his accounts of various false messiahs.^[14] The concept of an antikhristos is not found in Jewish writings in the period 500 BCE–50 CE.^{[citation needed]} However, Bernard McGinn conjectures that the concept may have been generated by the frustration of Jews subject to often-capricious Seleucid or Roman rule, who found the nebulous Jewish idea of a Satan who is more of an opposing angel of God in the heavenly court insufficiently humanized and personalized to be a satisfactory incarnation of evil and threat.^{[15][unreliable source?]}

The five uses of the term "antichrist" or "antichrist" in the Johannine epistles do not clearly present a single latter-day individual Antichrist. The articles "the deceiver" or "the antichrist" are usually seen as marking out a certain category of persons, rather than an individual.^[16]

Little children, it is the last hour: and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour.

— 1 John 2:18 Douay-Rheims

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

The strategy of the Antichrist

— 1 John 2:22 NRSV

By this, you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.

— 1 John 4:2–3 NRSV

Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist!

— 2 John 1:7 NRSV

Consequently, attention to an individual Antichrist figure focuses on the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians.^[17][18] However, the term "antichrist" is never used in this passage:

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.

— 2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 NRSV

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

— 2 Thessalonians 2:7–10 NRSV

Although the word "antichrist" (Greek antikhristos) is used only in the Epistles of John, the similar word "pseudochrist" (Greek pseudokhristos, meaning "false messiah") is used by Jesus in the Gospels:^[14]

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

— Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22 NRSV

The Bible serves as a guide to distinguishing authentic truth from counterfeit—something that will be increasingly important in the final conflict.

The Antichrist is here

The wolf in sheep’s clothing

The book of Revelation presents the conflict between good and evil in symbolic language, in chapters 12-14. In Chapter 12, the two sides are described as the dragon and the woman. Essentially, the dragon is the devil (12:9), who is waiting for the woman to give birth to her child. The description of the child is done in Messianic terms (12: 5; 19:15), so the picture refers to the attempt of the forces of evil to kill Christ. Because this attempt fails (12:7-9), the dragon pounces on the woman (12:13-16), a symbol of the church. The picture here accurately reflects the many centuries of bloodshed, during which Christ’s followers paid with their lives for the faith they embraced.

The last verse of chapter 12 announces the final conflict: “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus” (v. 17). The phrase “the rest of her offspring” refers to the followers of Christ (the seed of the woman).

In Scripture, the concept of remnant refers to the few who remain loyal to Christ. Given the course of the vision so far, we would expect the dragon to continue in the same violent way. But things change.

In Revelation Chapter 13 we see a change in the dragon’s attitude and strategy. He transfers his prerogatives (throne, authority, and power) to a great beast, which is described using a language that is incredibly similar to the way Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament.

Here’s an example of the many similarities:

The beast	Jesus
Comes from the water when it begins its work (Revelation 13:1);	Comes out of the baptism water to begin His ministry (Luke 3:21-23);
Resembles the dragon (Revelation 12:3; 13:1);	“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9);
Has 10 crowns (Revelation 13:1);	Has many crowns (Revelation 19:12);
Has 10 horns on its seven heads (Revelation 13:1);	Has 7 horns (Revelation 5:6);
Receives power, the throne, and authority from the dragon (Revelation 13:2,4);	Receives power, the throne, and authority from the Father (God). (Matthew 28:18; Revelation 2:27);
42 months of activity (Revelation 13:5);	3,5 years of public ministry (The gospel according to John);
Was stabbed (Revelation 13:3);	Was stabbed (Revelation 5:6);
Came back to life (Revelation 13:3);	Was resurrected (Revelation 1:18);
Receives worship after healing the fatal wound (Revelation 13:3-4,8);	Receives worship after the resurrection (Matthew 28:17);
Receives great authority after healing the fatal wound (Revelation 13:7).	“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18) after the resurrection.

Reject the spirit of the Antichrist

The wild beast, the symbol of an entity that opposes God, is more like Jesus than different from Him. However, its resemblance to Christ is only for show. In reality, the beast does nothing but keep mankind away from the true Jesus, giving them the false impression that they are with Him.

There is one detail that stands out. This beast also has an instrument, another beast, through which it works at the end of history. This second beast also resembles Christ (Revelation 13:11), but also the prophet Elijah. Revelation 13:13 says that “it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people”.

Here a historical allusion is made to an episode in the history of ancient Israel (1 Kings 18). It is a confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal. The test of truth was, in that particular case, the divine response to the sacrifice of the competing prophets. The people were confused and needed tangible proof that either Elijah or Baal’s prophets were right. In that circumstance, the fire struck only the altar of God, not the altar of Baal. So the people knew who the true God was and who His prophet was.

But Revelation 13:13 tells us that at the end of time, fire will also descend on the false altar. In such a circumstance it will be impossible to distinguish between the authentic and the counterfeit only on the basis of sight. Even if what is seen will be more of an illusion, the counterfeiting will be extreme. Jesus was right when he said that “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24).

The wolf in shepherd’s clothing

However, that is not all. Another major text that emphasizes the deception occurring in the end times is 2 Thessalonians 2. Here the apostle Paul addresses the issue of the Day of the Lord, which some saw as already fulfilled (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The apostle calms our spirits, stating that there are certain essential conditions that will be present when Jesus really appears (2 Thessalonians 2: 3-12).

The two conditions are “apostasy”—a word describing the rejection of Christ by Christians—(v. 3, cf. v. 11-12) and the revelation of “the lawless one” (v. 8). Although the mystery of lawlessness was already unfolding in Paul’s time (v. 7a), there was something or someone standing in its way and limiting its development (v. 7b). When these restrictions are removed, the lawless one—or the antichrist—would appear.

Rebuke the Antichrist

When it comes to the time and manner of the Second Coming, Paul compares the event to a thief sneaking in at night (1 Thessalonians 5:2,4). In light of this, Paul encourages the members of the Christian church not to be caught in speculation, while also acknowledging that there are still false Christs, who may imitate him that must be avoided.

The most important hereof is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10: “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

Paul says that the wicked one will “be revealed” (in Greek, Apokalyfthēsetai), but Jesus will destroy him “by the splendor of his coming (in Greek, Parousia)” (2 Thessalonians 2: 8). Then, right at the beginning of verse 9, Paul states that “the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works”. Here the author talks about the climax of the imitation of Christ by the antichrist.

Even the antichrist’s arrival will attempt to mimic the second coming of Jesus. We are not told exactly how, but it is stated that “he will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie” (v. 9). It seems unlikely then, that the discussion of Trump as the antichrist holds much weight.

It is not difficult for the Bible reader to imagine how Satan would do this. The same Paul, speaking of false prophets in his day, said: “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). The devil has been masquerading since the story of the primordial fall and Jesus calls him “the father of lies” (John 8:44). With Satan clothed in Christ’s garment, it is no wonder that mankind will gather to fight against Jesus when He comes on the clouds of heaven (Revelation 19:19). They most likely do not know the identity of the false Jesus/antichrist—much less that of the true Christ.

Overcome the Antichrist

Discerning the truth and the counterfeit

It seems that the only way to discern between the truth of God and the deceptive “blasphemous words” in the end times is to use the same old method that has been used before: obedience to God’s explicit Word. In conclusion, I would like to give three convincing examples.

The first comes from the story of Eve’s fall (see Genesis 3). Her discussion with the serpent was about what God commanded: not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although appearances were misleading, and the serpent seemed to be right since what he was suggesting contradicted God’s express command, it had to be rejected and identified as false.

The second one comes from the experience of Jesus’ temptation (see Matthew 4). When he tempted Jesus, the devil did not immediately reveal his identity. He came to the Saviour of the world as an angel of light. Jesus’ only defense was the Word of God, which He decided to obey no matter how appealing or persuasive the tempter’s suggestions seemed.

The third example comes from Revelation 12:11. Here the overcomers of the satanic dragon are depicted. John says: “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”. The metaphor of the blood of Jesus Christ has the role of telling us that the victors are not without fault. They need Christ’s forgiveness. However, the mention of the “word” of God, which they confess and for which they are ready to die, shows that, in the end, it will be the same: the distinction between Christ and Satan, between truth and falsehood, will be made according to of the Word of God.