THE ANTICHRIST
Who or What is the Antichrist
Stes de Necker
Eschatology
The Antichrist is primarily
a Christian concept
based on interpretation of passages in the New
Testament in which the term "antichrist" occurs five times
in 1 John and 2 John, once
in plural form and
four times in the singular.
In some Christian belief systems, Jesus the Messiah will
appear in his Second Coming to Earth to face the emergence of
the Antichrist figure, who will be the greatest false messiah in Christianity.
Just as Christ is the saviour
and the ideal model for humanity, his opponent in the end time will
be a figure of concentrated evil.
In Islamic eschatology, Masih
ad-Dajjal (the False
messiah in Islam) is an anti-Messiah figure (similar to the Christian
concept of Antichrist), who will appear to deceive humanity before the second
coming of "Isa", as Jesus is
known by Arabic-speaking Muslims.
The word "antichrist" is made up
of two roots: αντί (anti) + Χριστός (Khristos). "Αντί" can mean not
only "against" and "opposite of", but also "in place
of", "Χριστός", translated "Christ", is Greek for the
Hebrew "Messiah". Both literally mean "Anointed One",
and refer to Jesus of Nazareth within Christian, Islamic and Messianic
Jewish theology.
Whether the New Testament contains an
individual Antichrist is disputed.
The five uses of the term
"antichrist" or "antichrists" in the Epistles
of John 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.
1 John 2:18 KJV - ‘....it is the last
time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many
antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.’
2 John 1:7 NRSV (1989) - ‘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.’
1 John 2:22 NRSV (1989) - ‘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.’
1 John 4:2–3 NRSV (1989) - ‘By this you
know theSpirit 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.’
Consequently attention for an individual
Antichrist figure focused on the second chapter of 2
Thessalonians. However, the term "antichrist" is never used
in this passage:
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 NRSV (1989) - ‘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 2:7–10 NRSV (1989) - ‘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.’
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:
Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22 NRSV (1989) - ‘For
false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and
omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.’
The Beast from the earth, according to the Book of Revelation and also referred to as
the False Prophet, has often been equated with an
individual Antichrist.
Revelation 13:11–17 NRSV (1989) - ‘Then I
saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and
it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on
its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,
whose mortal wound had been healed. It performs great signs, even making fire
come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; and by the signs that it is
allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of
earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the
sword and yet lived; and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the
beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would
not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Also it causes all, both small
and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right
hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the
mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.’
Revelation 16:13–14 NRSV (1989) - ‘And I
saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the
mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. These are demonic
spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to
assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.’
Revelation 19:19–20 NRSV (1989) - ‘Then I saw
the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war
against the rider on the horse and against his army. And the beast was
captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the
signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and
those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of
fire that burns with sulphur.’
Revelation 20:10 NRSV (1989) - ‘And the
devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where
the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.’
Medieval commentators, however, more
readily identified the figure of the Beast from the sea as an individual
Antichrist.
So, although the Bible does not specifically
name who the antichrist will be, it does give us some clues as to what he will
be like.
Speculation
about the Antichrist
There exist a great many speculations of who the
Antichrist is or might be.
Many Protestant reformers,
including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas
Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox,
and Cotton Mather, even identified the Roman Papacy as the
Antichrist!
In calling the pope the
"antichrist," the early Lutherans stood in a tradition that reached
back into the eleventh century.
Not only dissidents and heretics but even
saints had called the bishop of Rome the "antichrist" when they
wished to castigate his abuse of power.
Even I have been accused of being an antichrist by a few of my readers who don't agree with a biblical perspective I've
written! (Die Verborge Waarhede van die
Bybel = (Eng.) ‘The Hidden Truths of the Bible’)
The NIV makes
it clearer that a time of rebellion will come prior to Christ's return and then
the "man of lawlessness, the man doomed to destruction" will be
revealed.
The antichrist eventually will exalt himself
above God to be worshiped in the Lord's Temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Verses 9 and 10 say that the antichrist will do counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders, to gain a following and deceive many.
The antichrist will gain political power and
spiritual authority over every nation on the earth.
He will most likely begin
his rise to power as a very influential, very charismatic, political or
religious diplomat. He will rule the world government for forty-two months.
According to many eschatologists,
this time frame is understood to be during the latter half (3.5 years) of the
tribulation.
During this period, the world will endure a time of
unprecedented trouble.
In Daniel's prophetic vision of the end of
days we see "a little horn" described in chapters 7, 8 and 11.
In the interpretation of the dream, this
little horn is a ruler or king, and speaks, of the antichrist.
Daniel 7:24-25 says, "The ten horns are
ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise,
different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak
against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times
and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half
a time." (NIV)
According to many end
times Bible scholars, Daniel's prophecy interpreted together with
verses in Revelation, specifically point to a future world empire coming from a
"revived" or "reborn" Roman Empire, like the one in
existence at the time of Christ. They predict that the antichrist will emerge
from this race.
Joel Rosenberg, author of fiction (Dead
Heat, The Copper Scroll, Ezekiel Option, The Last Days, The
Last Jihad) and non-fiction (Epicenter) books about Bible prophecy, bases
his conclusions about the antichrist on extensive Scripture study including
Daniel's prophecy, Ezekiel 38-39, and the book
of Revelation. He says that at first, the antichrist won't appear to be
evil, ‘but rather a charming diplomat.’
Rosenberg goes on to say, "No commerce can
be done without his approval. He will be ... seen as an economic genius, a
foreign policy genius. And he will emerge out of Europe. Because Daniel chapter
9 says, the prince, who is to come, the antichrist, will come from people who
destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple ... Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. by
the Romans.
In the Gospels (Mark 13, Matthew 24-25, and
Luke 21), Jesus warned his followers of the terrible events and persecution that
will occur before his second coming. Most likely, this is where the concept of
an antichrist was first introduced to the disciples, although Jesus does not
refer to him in the singular:
Matthew 24:24, NKJV
- "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and
wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
Conclusion
Is the Antichrist alive today? He could be.
Will we recognize him? Perhaps not at first.
However, the best way to avoid being deceived
by the spirit of the antichrist is to know
Jesus Christ and be ready for his return.
With Jesus in your heart, you have nothing to fear.
With Jesus in your heart, you have nothing to fear.
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