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Who is the Antichrist? |
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Written by eric francke
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Monday, 16 March 2009 |
Who is the Antichrist?
Many Christians over the years have speculated as to the identity of the Antichrist. When I was young, I remember many sincere believers saying very authoritatively that it was Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbechev, and many others. It is pretty apparent that all of the speculation was dead wrong. Does the Bible give any substantial evidence as to who or what the Antichrist is?
First of all, it must be noted that the “typical” understanding the AntiChrist, a single evil world ruler who is slated to appear at the end of the church age, has only minimal and circumstantial support when it comes to what the Bible actually says.
The word “Antichrist” is found only in the writings of the apostles John in 1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, and 2 John 7. In the first verse, John says that there are “many antichrists” (plural). He continues that sentiment throughout his book. Here is one such example:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3 NKJV)
Notice that according to John, the Antichrist was already in the world and it was a “spirit” or false teaching that was the manifestation of the Antichrist. John clearly was not thinking of a single world ruler who was the one and only Antichrist, but a spirit or false teaching that had infected many people, and was present across a wide expanse of time. It is through this understanding of John’s that any other speculative ideas of the Antichrist must be filtered.
Another text that is used to discuss the future qualities of the Antichrist is 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, where the apostle Paul calls the Antichrist the "man of sin," or "son of perdition." Here Paul, like John, is also warning believers about the antichrist's ability to deceive:
"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (Thessalonians 2:3-4 NKJV)
It is safe to presume that the “Man of Sin” whom Paul is talking about is the same as the “Antichrist” that John referred to. And if that is the case, we need to consider the real possibility that Paul is not referring to a single individual, but a collection of people, just as John was.
For the sake of argument, do we have any other biblical precedent where a “man” is not actually a single individual, but made up of a numerous individuals? Absolutely. Paul talks about such a “Man” in Ephesians 2:15-16.
“by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross”.
In this case, the “Man” the corporate, unified Body of Christ, is made up by many people who are following the truth, and together, they are counted as a single individual or “man”. Furthermore, the same people in the next few verses, in similar use of imagery, are compared to a “temple” being built with Christ as the cornerstone.
This is all critically important when we go back to Paul’s description of the “man of sin”. That “man” opposes everything that is called God, and seats himself in the temple of God, showing that he himself is God.
The “man” antichrist is the mirror opposite of the “man” (Body of Christ) Paul describes in Ephesians 2. Both are complex unities, rather than single individuals. The former represents the false teaching of self-deification, where the latter represents the true believers who are true worshippers of God. Moreover the “man of sin” we are told seats himself in the temple of God, seeking to get others to believe that he is God. The “temple” is the second analogy that Paul used in Ephesians 2 to describe the unified Body of Christ.
In context, Paul is saying that the spirit of antichrist, the false spirit that teaches that man himself is God, would infect the very church. This is why Paul said that “the falling away comes first”. The advent of the antichrist is simply the infection of that antichrist spirit (primarily the belief that man is God) into the church. This also explains why the number of the antichrist or “beast” in revelation is said to be 666, which is explained by the author as being the “number of man”. (Rev. 13:18)
If we look at the church today, we can see that we are already there. The signs of the apostasy (falling away) are evident. We have large portion of the Christian church which has been raised on a diet of New Age pabulum, believing that they truly divine. Television celebrities promote books like “A Course in Miracles” which says exactly that, and many Christians don’t see the error. Eastern thought (ie. Hinduism and Buddhism) which teach that the “self” is essentially “God” has permeated the entire Christian culture. No need to look for a future individual to rebuild a physical temple in Jerusalem. According to Paul’s prophecy, we are already there. |
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