So much is made today about the Antichrist (capital “A”). A search on YouTube for prognosticators about “Who is the Antichrist” – his appearing, his personality, his birthplace, etc. etc. – will garner videos with hundreds of thousands, even millions of views. We’ve linked one such purveyor here.
The doctrine of the Antichrist (capital “A”) is based in and centers around Revelation 13:1-10. Given these eleven verses and the corresponding amount of publications on the topic, to say it’s “unbalanced” is an understatement.
Let’s forget the prognosticators, and simply consider what God has said.
How Scripture answers "Who is the Antichrist?"
A purely Scripture-based definition of antichrist2,3,4,5 requires no human speculation or pontification. It would not be a proper name (capital “A”), but rather a concept or classification – literally, “every spirit that does not confess Jesus”4,5 or anyone that “denies the Father”3. John clearly defines this and tells us that antichrist is “in the world already”4 and was “many”2. We also have Jude’s testimony7 about false teachers, written during the same time period and mirroring John’s definition of the antichrist.
Determining what Scripture has made clear, we can review other, less-clear passages that may apply. These would include what John sees in his vision1 and what Paul writes to the Thessalonians6 (and possibly Jesus’ statements provoked by the Temple visit7). To be clear, these do not speak of “the Antichrist” and numerous shortcomings for anyone to definitively interpret in that way have been noted.
However, what is unequivocally clear in these passages1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 is that while opposition to God exists and will exist, He remains sovereign and in due course will be triumphant over evil…as will all those that remain faithful to the end1,6,7.
Answer built on scripture-blocks below
1
Based on chapters 12 and 13 in full context, the beast appears to be illustrating the way in which Satan wages war against the “woman’s offspring.” Here is a summary of what John sees:
- The child: Jesus (but we are not told this explicitly)
- Dragon: Satan (we are told this)
- The woman: Christ’s church (we are not told this explicitly but John does address the church this way5; we know Satan cannot triumph over it)
- The woman’s offspring: All Saints (we are told this and note: they would be Jesus’ brothers/sisters by birth and they “held to the testimony”)
!! scripture-block context extra important here !!
So what/who is the beast? We are not told except that he, like Satan, waged war on the saints. Also that he, like Satan, was worshipped by all (that weren’t saints). Within all the parameters of John’s vision, including the likely time of writing and its practical usefulness to his audience, it is more than reasonable to conclude John is describing Rome and its active crusade and persecution against Christians of that day.
2
John identifies the antichrist as having already come.
3
John defines the antichrist as anyone who denies (e.g. blasphemes) the Father and the Son.
4
John again says that the antichrist is anyone that denies Jesus/God and already among them. In this context, he makes “antichrist” and “false prophet” synonymous.
5
John again identifies the antichrist already present and as anyone that denies Christ. Interestingly, he also addresses this letter using the same imagery from Revelation 12-13. In this case, the “elect lady” is obviously the church and “her children” are the Christians.
6
A difficult passage is made more difficult by the fact that there are things that Paul had already shared with them about these two signs. We don’t know exactly what the rebellion is/was that Paul was referring to. It could have been a general, spiritual rebellion against God or it could have been a physical, political rebellion. We also don’t know who the man of lawlessness is – whether an actual individual or a metaphor. What/Who it was restraining is also a question.
!! scripture-block context extra important here !!
Jumping to the conclusion that Paul must be speaking about the Antichrist is tenuous at best, since:
- We don’t have answers from Paul in the immediate or broader context of his letters to the Thessalonians (which he addresses in a way by revealing that there were things he shared with them in person).
- It would be based on an uncertain interpretation of Revelation 13 of the same (putting us squarely into the realm of Presupposition Scripture Weighting).
- It would leave questions regarding how it really applied to the Thessalonians at all (remember, Paul is sharing two signs with them so they know that Jesus has not come already).
- Historical events of that time that might shed light on these things (e.g. the First Jewish-Roman War) and supply a very ready explanation to all of these questions.
7
While there are many other passages that describe the nature of false teachers, Jude is likely written later in the first century — around the same time as John’s letters and vision. His descriptions of anyone teaching falsely fit well with John’s warnings of the already present antichrist….and also correlate to John’s vision and description of the beast in Revelation 131.
8
Jesus foretells times and events revolving around great tribulation and persecution – even a “falling away” – of the saints that include “false christs” (e.g. false teachers). However, He does not mention an individual “Antichrist,” therefore this passage doesn’t apply here.
!! scripture-block context extra important here !!
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