The Antichrist

What comes to mind when you hear the word “antichrist”?

Most people assume that the Bible teaches that an end-time Hitler-like super dictator—“the antichrist”—in league with the devil will one day arise to rule the world.

That is why Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “antichrist” as “the great antagonist of Christ, expected to spread universal evil before the end of the world, but finally to be conquered at Christ’s second coming.”

Over the years, Hollywood has produced scores of films promoting this idea: the Omen series, Fear No Evil, Lost Souls, etc.

When it comes to accuracy, Hollywood consistently blurs and ignores the line between truth and fiction. Filmmakers have no problem distorting and reshaping facts in order to promote their own pre-conceived ideas—especially when it comes to the Bible.

Yet nowhere in Scripture does the Bible refer to THE antichrist. Most people don’t realize this—including most professing Christians!

Now is the time to stop assuming. Now you can know what God’s Word actually says about antichrist—as long as you allow the Bible to interpret itself!

Only One Antichrist?

The term “antichrist” is found in only four scriptures, all written by the Apostle John: I John 2:18, 22, 4:3 and II John 7. Originally written in Greek, it means “an opponent of the Messiah”—in other words, against Christ.

John warned Christians, “Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (I John 2:18).

Notice that it says, “MANY antichrists”—plural, more than one. The term is not limited to just one person.

Verse 19 further explains that they came from within God’s Church. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest [obvious] that they were not all of us.”

John wrote these verses near the close of the first century and the end of his 60-plus-year ministry. Of Christ’s original twelve apostles, he was the only one still living at that time. He witnessed the birth of God’s Church on Pentecost, A.D. 31. He saw it grow like the proverbial mustard seed as it spread across the Roman Empire, and saw it viciously attacked by massive religious deception.

Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 673, explains that antichrist “is commonly identified with the Man of Sin (II Thessalonians 2), and the Beast of Revelation 13. But the Bible itself does not make the identification. The language implies that John’s readers had been taught to expect an antichrist in connection with the closing days of the Christian era (vs. 18). However, John applies the word, not to one person, but to the whole group of anti-Christian teachers (2:18; 4:3). The New Testament idea seems to be that the spirit of antichrist would arise in Christendom, manifesting itself in many ways, both within the Church and without, finally culminating in one person, or an institution, or both.”

These antichrists existed not only during John’s time, but throughout the 2,000-year history of the Church—even to our time.

While the Bible says that there are many antichrists, it also shows that the Beast and the False Prophet of Revelation 16:13 will be two of the last great antichrists.

Antichrists Are Deceivers

In II John 7, John wrote, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

About sixty years earlier, Christ had warned John and the other disciples, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ [pretending to preach or act by Christ’s authority] and shall deceive many”—including true Christians (Matt. 24:4-5).

Years later, the Apostle Paul warned of “false apostles” and “deceitful workers” (II Cor. 11:13-15) disguised as “ministers of righteousness,” who went about deceiving Christians into believing “another gospel” (Gal. 1:6-9; Acts 20:28-31).

These false teachers and false brethren—antichrists—were “tares” among “wheat” (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-42). They sounded sincere—seemed godly—but were far from being real Christians. These false Christians were hard to discern from real Christians, which made it easy for them to rise into leadership positions. From there, they infected the Church with false doctrines, deceiving the many.

The Gnostics

Among these deceivers were the Gnostics. They claimed to have “special knowledge” (Gnosticism comes from the Greek word meaning “knowledge”), which they considered higher than Holy Scripture. They used their “special knowledge” to lead people into lasciviousness—license to sin. They deceived many, teaching that transgressing God’s law is of no moral consequence.

According to the MacArthur Study Bible (New King James Version), “Gnosticism was the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries.”

Again, antichrists are deceivers. They deceive by denying Christ: “Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son” (I John 2:22).

But how do they do this?

It is unlikely that antichrists in John’s time, such as the Gnostics, went around saying, “I deny Christ.” If they had, they could not have blended with true Christians.

The Gnostics taught that matter (flesh) is entirely evil and spirit is entirely good. Led by Cerinthus, a false teacher in Ephesus, this cult denied that God, who is Spirit, literally became flesh.

Instead, some believed that when Christ lived on the earth, He did not have a real body—it only “seemed” real. They believed Christ was a kind of “phantom.”

Others believed that the divine Christ (spirit) joined with the human Jesus (flesh) at baptism, and left Him just before He died. Since Christ did not die, they reasoned, He did not need to be resurrected from the dead.

Both ideas are false. They deny that Jesus Christ was once a flesh-and-blood human being, tempted like all men and capable of sinning, but did not (Heb. 4:14-15).

Here is the problem with their reasoning: If Christ was not flesh, then He was never tempted to sin. If He was never tempted, He was never capable of sinning. If He was incapable of sinning, then He did not overcome sin and could not set an example for us to do the same (Rev. 3:21; I Pet. 2:21).

But John 1 says that Christ (who was God) did become flesh: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (vs. 1-2, 14).

Matthew 4 describes Christ being tempted by the devil: “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil…And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (vs. 1, 3). If Christ was never flesh, how could He be tempted? James 1:13 states, “God [as a Spirit—John 4:24] cannot be tempted with evil.”

But Hebrews 4:15 states, “But [Christ] was in all points tempted like as we are...” The key is that ALL flesh is subject to temptation.

Christ said in John 16:33, “I have overcome the world.” How can this be true if He never became flesh, was never tempted and therefore was never capable of sinning?

As you can see, the false doctrines of Cerinthus and the Gnostics are based on human reasoning. They defy the plain, simple truth of Scripture.

Trinity Doctrine Denies Christ

The Gnostics denied that Christ literally became a flesh-and-blood man. But there are other ways to deny Christ!

For example, the Trinity doctrine promotes the idea that God is “three Persons and one nature,” and that Christ is “one Person and two natures.” Somehow, one “nature” of Christ died at the crucifixion, while the other continued to live.

But how can one half of one third of one Being die? Are you confused? You should be. This is doctrinal confusion—and “God is not the author of confusion,” but of decency and order (I Cor. 14:33, 40).

Read what the New Catholic Encyclopedia says about the Trinity: “…one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification…(W)hen one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the fourth century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma ‘one God in three Persons’ became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought.

“Herein lies the difficulty. On the one hand, it was the dogmatic formula ‘one God in three Persons’ that would henceforth for more than 15 centuries structure and guide the Trinitarian essence of the Christian message…On the other hand, the formula itself does not reflect the immediate consciousness of the period of origins; it was the product of three centuries of doctrinal development.”

In other words, the false idea of “three beings in one God” did not originate with the New Testament Church. Neither Christ nor the original twelve apostles taught it. Nor did Paul.

Instead, the Trinity doctrine simmered in the minds of false Christians for about three centuries. By the fourth century, it became the official doctrine of the great universal church.

The Trinity denies and limits the nature of God, falsely teaching that He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It denies Scripture, which shows that God is a Family. He is reproducing Himself, expanding His Family with many sons. These sons—Christians—are spiritually begotten by God’s Holy Spirit, which empowers them to develop godly character. Later, at Christ’s Return, they will be changed from mortal to immortal, from physical to spiritual, from the human kind to the God kind. The Trinity doctrine both limits God and denies His Master Plan of Salvation for mankind.

Only One God, One Being?

Another doctrine of antichrist is the idea that God is only one Being. False teachers quote verses such as “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4). They claim that Jesus is not God, but only a Son of God.

These ignore what the Bible records in John 10. In verse 30, Christ said, “I and My Father are one.” The Jews responded by picking up stones to stone Him to death (vs. 31). “Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown you from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone You not; but for blasphemy; and because that You, being a man, make Yourself God” (vs. 32-33).

Read the rest of the chapter. Notice that Christ did not say, “You misunderstood what I was saying.” No, Jesus was saying that He was God, just like the Father is God.

In the beginning of the same book, John records that Christ was God from the very beginning (John 1:1-2, 14). Any teaching contrary to this is antichrist!

Doctrine of Lawlessness

Perhaps the most common way antichrists deny Christ is through evil works. They do not understand I John 4:3 and II John 7, which warn against those who “confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” Some Bible versions, such as the Williams translation, render “is come” more clearly as “continues to come,” meaning Christ is coming in the flesh right now.

Although Christ came in the flesh 2,000 years ago, He is also coming in the flesh right now in the lives of Christians. He is actively working in them, living His perfect, sin-free life THROUGH them daily (Gal. 2:20). He is guiding them to become perfect—spiritually mature—just like Him (I Pet. 2:21).

But antichrists deny Christ by their evil works. They claim that Christ kept the law for them, therefore, they don’t have to keep those “harsh commandments.” They forget that Paul wrote that God’s law is “holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom. 7:12).

Paul also wrote, in Titus 1:16, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Antichrists are against Christ—against His laws and way of life.

But God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him, who keep His commandments, allowing Christ to live His perfect life through them. “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (I John 3:22). Verse 24 explains, “And he that keeps His commandments dwells in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us.”

What Is the Spirit of Antichrist?

I John 4:3 states, “And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (See verses 1, 4-6.)

Notice that it says “IT”—not “he”—“should come,” and that “IT”—not he—“is already in the world.” An antichrist is more than just a person or group of people. It is an attitude, an idea, a teaching!

The spirit of antichrist can be applied to people, authorities, attitudes and actions. It permeates all cultures, subcultures and societies of the world. This is because this world is currently led and deceived by Satan the devil (II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Rev. 12:9).

The spirit of antichrist already blankets the world as mankind continues to rely on himself to bring world peace, justice, etc—denying the power of Christ and rejecting His help and rule.

But, as the end of Satan’s reign draws near, this spirit will be personified by two men who will soon arise and deceive mankind during the worst time of trouble in human history. Neither man will be the antichrist, but both will embody and represent this world’s spirit or attitude of antichrist!

Christ said that the dark times ahead will be “as the days of Noah were” (Matt. 24:36-39). People will rely on themselves instead of looking toward God. They will continue to follow their own ideas.

More religious deceivers will arrive on the “Christian” scene, antichrists who will pass themselves off as God’s people, deceiving many through mighty miracles (Rev. 13:13-14).

One such leader, the final great False Prophet, will lead the world to worship the Beast as God (II Thes. 2:3; Rev. 16:13; 19:20)! This deception will be so great, so widespread, that they will even deceive mankind into fighting Christ at His Second Coming (Rev. 16:9, 13-16; 17:13-14).

The seeds for these stunning events have been planted and will soon sprout. But God promises a way of escape for those who diligently seek Him (Rev. 12:7-9, 13-16).