The Spirit of Antichrist

The Spirit of Antichrist is working to destroy the church through deceptions spread by false teachers and charlatans.

In popular preaching, the Antichrist is a political tyrant determined to conquer the world. However, only the Apostle John uses the term ‘Antichrist’, and he applies it to false teachers who originated in his congregations.

The ‘Spirit of Antichrist’ is manifested in deceivers and their activities within the Body of Christ. This was the situation two thousand years ago, and it is the same situation we see today. As John warned his congregations:

• “It is the last hour! And just as you heard Antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists have come to be. By this, we perceive it is the last hour!” – (1 John 2:18).

[Abandoned Church - Photo by Luc Constantin on Unsplash]

John does not deny that a final Antichrist will come. He affirms this. However, even in the first century, many antichrists were infiltrating the churches of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle declares that we live in “the last hour.”. The evidence for this is the activity of false teachers in the Church. Predictions of deceivers and false prophets who seduce Christians in the last days are common in the New Testament, starting with Jesus. For example:

• “FOR FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS WILL ARISE, and they will perform great signs and wonders; so as to seduce, if possible, even the elect” – (Matthew 24:24. Compare Deuteronomy 13:1, the Septuagint version).

• “The Spirit says expressly that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” – (1 Timothy 4:1. Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 2 Timothy 3:1, 2 Timothy 3:13, 2 Peter 2:1).

John’s letters identify the lies that are propagated by false teachers, the deceptions demonstrating that they are under the direction of the Spirit of Antichrist, namely, the denial of the humanity of Christ, and that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and Son of God:

• “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have departed into the world. By this, you perceive the Spirit of God. Every spirit that professes that Jesus Christ, having come in flesh, is from God. And every spirit that does not profess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of whom you heard that he is coming. And now, it is in the world already” – (1 John 4:1-3).

• “Who is false but he who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? The same is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son” – (1 John 2:22).

• “For many deceivers departed into the world, even those who do not profess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist” - (2 John 7).

The Greek term translated as “antichrist” is a compound word formed with the noun ‘christos’ (“anointed”) and the preposition ‘anti’. The latter term denotes “instead of” rather than “against.” John probably derived this term from the warnings of Jesus about ‘false christs’ and ‘false prophets’ (‘pseudochristos’ and ‘pseudoprophétés’) who will deceive many of God’s elect – (e.g., Matthew 24:11, 24:24).

An ‘antichrist’ is someone who attempts to imitate Christ and replace him with a false anointed one, a false messiah! An antichrist is not ‘against Christ’, but ‘instead of Christ’. He is a counterfeit of the true Messiah.

The ‘many antichrists’, plural, referred to by John were false teachers who started in John’s churches:

• “They departed from among us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they departed, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us” – (1 John 2:19).

These deceivers were not pagan philosophers or representatives of Caesar, but men who began their efforts inside the Church (“they departed from among us”). Likewise, when John states in Chapter 4 that “many false prophets have departed [‘exerchomai’] into the world,” he means they left the Church to continue their deceptive efforts elsewhere in the world. But the fact that they left the Body of Christ proves that they were never true believers or that they had apostatized - (1 John 4:1-3).

John exhorts us to test all things since, at every opportunity, Satan floods the Church with deceptions and deceivers (“Believe not every spirit but prove the spirits”). Antichrists are not national, military, or political leaders, but religious charlatans:

“BUT FALSE PROPHETS ALSO AROSE AMONG THE PEOPLE, as among you also there will be false teachers, men who will stealthily bring in destructive heresies, even disavowing the master who purchased them” - (2 Peter 2:1. Note the allusion to Deuteronomy 13:1).

THE MYSTERY OF LAWLESSNESS

The Apostle Paul likewise warns of the coming of the ‘Man of Lawlessness’, a deceiver who will be directed by malevolent spiritual forces. This ‘Son of Destruction’ will deceive believers and cause them to abandon the true faith - (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

The Man of Lawlessness will use ‘signs and deceitful wonders’ to cause many believers to deviate from the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles. He will be revealed when he “takes his seat in the Sanctuary of God,” a description more religious than political - (2 Thessalonians 2:4-7).

Paul uses the term “sanctuary of God” or ‘naos theou’ (ναος θεου) metaphorically for the Church. Like the Spirit of Antichrist described by John, the Mystery of Lawlessness is working even now, preparing the way for the arrival of this end-time deceiver - (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

Paul links this man to the coming apostasy, which must occur before the Day of the Lord arrives. Jesus also warned of an increase in lawlessness before his return, and he likewise linked this to apostasy. Moreover, according to Paul, when this final deceiver is revealed, his activities will be energized by Satan:

• “And then the lawless man will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus WILL CONSUME WITH THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH, AND BRING TO NOTHING by the manifestation of his arrival. His arrival is according to the energy of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are perishing, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God is sending them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness” – (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12. Note the verbal allusions to Isaiah 11:4 and Daniel 7:26).

• “And because of LAWLESSNESS COMING TO THE FULL MEASURE, the love of the many will grow cold. But he that endures to the end, the same will be saved” – (Matthew 24:11-12. Compare Daniel 8:23, the Septuagint or LXX).

Jesus began his sermon on the Mount of Olives with a dire warning about deceivers and deception. Note well that this warning emphasizes the term “many”:

• “Beware lest anyone deceive you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and deceive many. <…> And many will fall away. <…> And many false prophets will arise and deceive many. <…> False anointed ones and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect” - (Matthew 24:4-23).

False prophets and deceitful teachers are driven by the Spirit of Antichrist. Likewise, the Son of Destruction will be empowered by Satan and the Mystery of Lawlessness to lead many believers to leave and betray the Apostolic Faith.

And so, the Spirit of the Antichrist is at work today. Satan is laying the foundation for the arrival of the final great deceiver and the abandonment of genuine Christianity by many Christians, just as in the days of the Apostle John.

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• Impostors and Beasts - (The New Testament warns that false prophets will appear, causing many believers to abandon their faith and betray Jesus Christ)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warns of the coming Apostasy, which he links to the unveiling of the Man without Law when he takes his seat in the Church)

• The Beast is Rising! - (To identify the Antichrist, we must first understand what the relevant passages of the Bible say about him, his methods, and his objectives)

• L'Esprit de l'Antéchrist - (L'Esprit de l'Antéchrist travaille à détruire l'Église par des tromperies propagées par de faux enseignants et des charlatans)