Antichrist

A lot is being said about the Antichrist.  Sermons, books, Bible based films and documentaries are plentiful, and even the secular media seems to be obsessed with end-time scenarios.  All sorts of movies tell stories about people trying to survive in a “dystopian” future following some kind of apocalyptic event.  As an introduction to the subject of the Antichrist, let’s look at a few things the Bible has to say about it. 

The Holy Spirit inspired Jesus’ disciple, John, to write: 

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us.  But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.  I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.  Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.  Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.  As for you, see that what you heard from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. (1John 2:18-24 NASB) 

https://biblehub.com/nasb_/1_john/2.htm 

Applied broadly, an antichrist is someone who is opposed to Jesus Christ, who denies His deity, and as a result denies God the Father.  Antichrist is also a name given to a coming leader who, with the help of a False Prophet, will establish a worldwide economic, political, and religious system that will exercise tyrannical authority over humankind for seven years after Jesus Christ removes His followers out of the world (the Rapture). 

The Apostle Paul, writing in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, described the Antichrist as a man of lawlessness, who comes into power after a great religious apostacy - falling away from the true faith -  and after Jesus Christ removes those who believe in Him from Earth to be with Him in the heavenly realms: 

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,  that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 

No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,  who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.  Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?  And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed.  Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;  that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders,  and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved.  For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,  in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.(2Thessalonians 2:1-12 NASB)

https://biblehub.com/nasb_/2_thessalonians/2.htm 

John’s vision, received from Christ and described in the Book of Revelation, depicts the Antichrist and the False Prophet: 

And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. 

The Antichrist 

Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads were blasphemous names.  And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne, and great authority.  I saw one of his heads as if it had been fatally wounded, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;  they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”  A mouth was given to him speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.  And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 

It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation.  All who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slaughtered.  If anyone has an ear, let him hear. (Revelation 13:1-9 NASB) (headings added for clarity) 

The False Prophet 

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.  He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.  He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people.  And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.  And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.  And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves,  to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,  and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. (Revelation13:11-18 NASB) 

https://biblehub.com/nasb_/revelation/13.htm

Please see Daniel, Chapters 8 and 9, for additional information.  The Antichrist will come into power by negotiating a Middle East peace agreement, and will restore temple worship in Israel.  After he has been in power for three and a half years (42 months), he will betray Israel and the peace agreement.  Then, as per Revelation 13, everyone will be required to worship him and his image, or be killed.  (Please refer to 2Thessalonians 2:3-4) 

For another description of the Antichrist, please refer to Chapter 9 of Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth. 

The dragon is Satan. (Revelation 12:9)  The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be the servants of Satan, and the entire world will follow them;  except those who are saved by faith in Christ during the Tribulation. (Revelation Chapter 7)  The False Prophet will help the Antichrist and serve as the leader of the apostate religion.

The Second Coming of Christ will take place after the Antichrist has been in power for seven years.  The Antichrist and the False Prophet will rebel against Jesus when He returns, but they will be defeated and thrown into a lake of burning sulfur. (Revelation 19:11-20) 

Bible believing Christians trust that these things will happen, but we are not given the exact date or time of their occurrence.  John believed that he was writing his epistle in “the last hour.”  The church has always believed that the Lord’s return was imminent, and true believers still do.  Many bible scholars define the last hour or last days as the church age (the time from Pentecost until the Rapture). (The NIV Study Bible, 1984/1985) 

Believers will be able to recognize the conditions that indicate His coming is near.  We are directed to live in the expectation that He could return at any moment.  Paul called the Antichrist a man of lawlessness.  Today’s Zeitgeist seems to be a spirit of lawlessness.  Personally, I believe that this a spirit of antichrist.  That time might be in an hour or two.  Are you Ready? 

This has been a short introduction to Bible prophesy about the Antichrist.  It is far from complete, but it is better than some of the “spook stories” on the subject that the secular media shows you on TV.  It took me years to get a working understanding of Bible prophesy about the end times.  To help those who wish to pursue the subject further, please let me refer you to two DVD teaching series from Dr. Jack Van Impe and his wife Rexella.  They are, Revelation Revealed and Daniel – Final Endtime Mysteries Unsealed.  They are available from Jack Van Impe Ministries,  https://www.jvim.com/  The ministry also offers, The Jack Van Impe Prophesy Bible, which contains both of the  teaching series in written form.  These resources are the real thing.