As we see the days fast bringing changes of apocalyptic proportion to the world, the child of God must be prepared for the coming of both Christ and the developing powers of Antichrist. There is also the growing development of the “woman” who will ride the back of this beast called Antichrist. In this issue we want to deal with these subjects as well as the Blessed Hope we have in Christ.
The Term Antichrist
The term antichrist is a title that will increase in prominence the nearer we get to the coming of Christ and the Tribulation Period. Although the title occurs only in the apostle John’s writings in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; and 2 John 7, the idea which the word conveys is found frequently in Scripture. It has the understanding both of “taking the place” of Christ and of being “against” Christ.
The Development of Antichrist
Just as the doctrine of Christ is only suggested in the Old Testament and not fully developed, so it is with the teachings about Antichrist. Just as Messiah, the divine Logos of God and the only true expression of God, is only hinted at in the Old Testament, so Antichrist is presented primarily as an opponent of God rather than an opponent of God’s Anointed One. Similarly, this could be seen in the historical books of the Old Testament in the figure Belial as a personal opponent of God; thus the very wicked were called “sons of Belial” or “a daughter of Belial.”
Daniel 7:7 describes a great heathen empire coming in the future which is prophetically represented by a beast with ten horns. The Book of Daniel deals with empires and kingdoms of the Gentile powers. Daniel 2 presents these powers in the form of a man; Daniel 7 presents them in the form of beasts. But we read of a little horn that arises full of antagonism to God; he becomes the eleventh horn. He is described as having a mouth speaking great things and making war with the saints worldwide. In Daniel 7:7–11, we are told that the Ancient of Days will destroy him, and his kingdom will be given to the Son of Man.
In contrast, the activity of the Devil in the New Testament is specifically directed “against” Jesus Christ. Both Matthew 4 and Luke 4 present a personal temptation like none other by the Devil to Christ:
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine (Luke 4:5–7).
In this passage the Devil claims to hold all the kingdoms of this world, the oikoumene, the inhabited earth. It is evident that men throughout the ages have willingly given their authorities over to the Devil in exchange for powers from Him. This particular temptation was a struggle in spirit against Christ and Antichrist. Jesus tells us in John 14:30, “for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” In the Parable of the Wheat and Tares of Matthew 13, the Son of Man sows the good seed, the children of the kingdom (designated as wheat), while the Devil comes behind Him sowing tares on top and all around the wheat. The Devil became “Antichrist” in spirit against the Christ.
In the Pauline Epistles this antagonism is presented in the spiritual sphere. Second Corinthians 6:15 asks, “What concord hath Christ with Belial?” In 2 Thessalonians 2:7, Paul indicates that this mystery of iniquity already has been both a spirit and doctrine in development: “The mystery of iniquity doth already work”; it will culminate in the Man of Sin. Twelve years prior to this epistle, Caligula, the mad emperor, had a temple erected to himself in Rome demanding that his own statue be set up in Jerusalem and worshipped. According to the Johannine writings, such a man designated as Antichrist is coming. But John’s greater concern is anti-Christian forces and doctrines coming up among the churches in the denial of the coming of Christ. By the time of the Book of Revelation, this individual is finally presented: this beast out of the sea will step forward forcing his image upon the world, as well as his number, his mark, or his name.
The writings of John place antichrist in a development stage, a growing spirit, mood, and working which will finally be embodied in a person. He will be the tangible product of a developed spirit in history. We read in the culminating spirit of Psalm 2 that this antichrist is the development of the nations of history against God; this is why he is linked with the “seven heads” of the empires. Yet the Psalm concludes with the command, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
The Antichrist is also the development of Satan’s effort to get a man under his absolute control; he is one who will have the ability to bring the human and demonic worlds together. When both the governmental powers of history and the Devil collaborate, they will do so in this personification of sin. This is why his name is linked with sin, for he is likewise the development of sin: he is of that Wicked One, the Lawless One (against the law of God), the Son of Perdition (which is a title only used of Judas and Antichrist). Christ is the Son of God; Antichrist is the Son of Perdition. As Jesus Christ is the Mystery of Godliness, God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16), so the Antichrist is the resolve of the Mystery of Iniquity (2 Thess. 2:7). He will be of the Seed of the Serpent.
The Antichrist will be a composite man: one who embraces abilities and powers of the previous empires. He will have the marvelous power of attracting unregenerate men; they will be irresistibly fascinated by his personality. He will be a flatterer, a brilliant diplomat, and a great administrator.
A Person or a System
Certainly there have been “many antichrists” that have emerged throughout history as persons or systems. Nevertheless, we believe the Bible is clear that the Antichrist will be a person. From the beginning, the Apostolic Church of the first century believed that Antichrist was to be a person, the embodiment of human blasphemy and wickedness. Toward the close of the twelfth century, many began to look upon the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church as Antichrist. This view has been largely advocated by Protestant commentators. Many equate the papal system with the Antichrist system. Although the arguments in favor of this view are plausible, they are difficult to reconcile with the Word of God. Of course, we would not deny that the Roman Catholic Church postures itself as God’s representative voice on earth; for, the Pope himself claims to be the “Vicar” or “substitute” of Christ for the Church. This also would include the Mass/Eucharist taking the place of Christ in the parishioner.
However, let us carefully note John’s description of the Antichrist. In 1 John 2:22 we read, “Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” First John 4:3 states, “Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist.” It would be true to declare that Judaism has denied that “Jesus is the Christ”; it would be true that Unitarianism has denied that Christ has “come in the flesh.” But the papacy has never denied these statements. The Church of Rome has always confessed the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed, declaring, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” They have not denied that Jesus is the Christ. They have not denied that He came in the flesh some two thousand years ago. It is what Romanism has built around this acknowledgment that is its heretical problem.
All the Protestant commentators insist that the Roman Catholic Church system is described in Revelation 17:4, 5 under the figure of a “woman,” a harlot arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. This seems to be true, but this woman, the Mother of Harlots, is presented as riding upon the back of the beast, universally admitted to be Antichrist. If the beast is the Antichrist, the woman cannot be the Antichrist. It is clear in Revelation 17 that these are two different entities and do not signify the same thing. In fact, in Revelation 17:16, the beast and the ten horns will “hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” They will turn on that woman and destroy her. Again, Antichrist, as the “man of sin,” is to “exalt himself and magnify himself above every god” (Dan. 11:36, 37). It is also stated of him “that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). However false and impious the claims of the papacy, it has always recognized “in words” subordination to God, and the Pope’s highest claim is that he is the “vicar of Christ.” He doesn’t deny Christ but places himself as His proxy on earth. The papal system worships the Virgin and the saints, but it is not true that it worships the Devil openly.
Note Revelation 13:3, 4:
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Though there are many things in the history of the Roman Catholic Church that foreshadow the Antichrist, yet it is clear that the beast out of the sea and the woman harlot are two different and distinct entities.
Days Leading Up to the Flood
The development of Antichrist is a mood, a spirit, an attitude, and a collective thought. It grows in a generation, is inherited by each following generation, and continues throughout the unfolding generations. After so many centuries the mood, spirit, thought, and attitude will bring forth a person who is the embodiment of it all. When this spiritual development of the centuries and the physical reality of a certain generation come together, the Antichrist will appear. He will be the product of the world against God, and especially against Jesus Christ.
Genesis 6 tells of the joining of the godly with the ungodly “seeds.” This union has had untold repercussions on the planet. The product of their thought life (v. 5), the product of their violence, the product of their hatred against the Son of God will all come together to produce the Antichrist and his generation. Yes, it is the culmination of six thousand years of hatred and reaction to God. It will unconsciously and uncontrollably deepen.
Note Genesis 6:12, 13:
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
We also read that the days will come as in the days of Lot, days of what Jude 7 calls “strange flesh.” Daniel 11:37 seems to imply that Antichrist will be a sodomite: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.”
First John 2:18, 19 gives the understanding that Antichrist will be at one time or another closely associated with God’s people. Will his rhetoric be Christian? Will his rhetoric be Jewish? Will his “birth certificate” say one thing, and will he be someone else? Will the documents be altered to suit the need of deception? Are we truly witnessing such things in world leadership today? The true Antichrist will be political, yet he will present himself as the saviour of the world. But, “even now are there many antichrists.” The prelude to Antichrist will be antichrists. We also must remember that he will be in opposition to Jesus Christ, not just presenting himself as a substitute. The spirit of Antichrist is already in the world; we are in his prelude generation.
Types of Antichrist in Scripture
The types and shadows of Antichrist are found throughout the Old Testament with each one expressing an aspect of the “man of sin.” The Scriptures declare that Cain “was of that wicked one, and slew his brother” (1 John 3:12). He portrays the Antichrist by his murder of the chosen seed, Abel (Rev. 13:6, 7). Nimrod in Genesis 11 rebels against the Noahic family and becomes a type of Antichrist by his creation of Babel and its tower (Gen. 11, Rev. 13 & 18). Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus oppresses God’s people. Korah rises in his gainsaying and rebellion. The prophet Balaam is seen as a type in his attempt to curse Israel. King Saul in 1 Samuel 13 is seen in type by both his intrusion into the priesthood and his angry hunting for David. Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 portrays this son of perdition by his proud boasting. Absalom rises among the shadows and types in his attempt to steal the throne of David. Two generations later, Jeroboam steps forward with his substitution of a false religion of antiquity. Sennacherib is a type because of his efforts to destroy Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar becomes a classic type by his golden image in Daniel 3. Haman in the Book of Esther is seen as one in his plot to exterminate the Jews. In the prophecies of Daniel there was the “little horn” of Antiochus Epiphanes who defiled the temple.
The “Anti-” Heart and Will
The Scriptures make very clear that Christ and Antichrist are the thesis and the antithesis. Whereas in Luke 1:35 Christ is called the “Son of God,” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Antichrist is called “the son of perdition.” In 1 Timothy 3:16 Christ is “the mystery of godliness”; Antichrist will be the “mystery of iniquity” (2 Thess. 2:7). In Mark 1:24 Christ is declared “Holy”; in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 the Antichrist is called “Wicked” (or “lawless” in the Greek). In John 14:6 Christ declared Himself to be “the truth”; in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, the Antichrist will be the personification in the flesh of “a [the] lie” (the Greek uses the definite article). In John 15:1 Christ called Himself “the true vine”; the Antichrist will be the “vine of the earth” (Rev. 14:18). In John 10:4–15 Christ presents Himself as “the Good Shepherd”; in Zechariah 11:15, 17, the Antichrist will be viewed as “a foolish shepherd” and “the idol shepherd.” Christ is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14); Antichrist will be full of “all deceivableness of unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:10). In Luke 19:10, Christ came “to save”; in Daniel 8:24, the Antichrist will come to “destroy.” In Isaiah 53:3 Christ is prophesied as “despised,” while Antichrist will be admired (Rev. 13:3, 4). Christ came in the Father’s Name (John 5:43), but Antichrist will come in his own name (John 5:43). In Isaiah 53:3, Christ will be a “man of sorrows,” but Antichrist will be the “man of sin” (2 Thess. 2:3). Christ made Himself of no reputation (Phil. 2:7); Antichrist will exalt himself, “shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). Christ came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38), but Antichrist will come to do his own will (Dan. 11:36).
The Body of Christ versus the Body of Antichrist
According to 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, the Body of Christ has been growing throughout history. This body is viewed as a whole, and yet it is made up of parts or members. The apostle Paul named this Body in 1 Corinthians 12:12 with the definite article in the Greek “the Christ.” It is evident that this body is presented as a man, and Christ Himself is the head of this body.
Daniel 2 also presents another body growing throughout history: the body of a man with its parts or members. The “times of the Gentiles” is presented in this chapter as the “day of man,” beginning with Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (the head) and culminating with the feet and toes (that of the Antichrist kingdom). The parts of this body are the empires that would rise in the earth leading to the coming of the final one, the Antichrist and his kingdom. This body too has a head, Babylon, and according to Genesis 10 all of the empires have arisen from this head in history (Gen. 11). The Antichrist will be the composite of the previous heads and thus the beast with seven heads (Rev. 13:1).
The Satanic Trinity
According to Isaiah 14 the Devil has longed to be “like God.” He declared in Isaiah 14:13, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” This shows his desire to be like the Father. Then we read, “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” These are the prophetic hopes of Psalm 48:2 and Isaiah 2:2; both are references to the Son. We also read, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,” which is in reference to the Holy Spirit. He concludes his willful desire: “I will be like the most High.”
The Devil saw the Trinity in heaven before his fall and longed to be the same in his power and authority. His imitative hope will be realized in the Tribulation Period where the Dragon (Rev. 12 and 13) imitating the Father will give power and authority to the Antichrist (or beast out of the sea, his representative son). The third in the satanic trinity will be the False Prophet (or beast out of the earth, in imitation of the Holy Spirit). As the Father in heaven gave all power to His Son, so the Devil will give power or authority over the earth to his son, the Antichrist. This satanic trinity will rule the earth the last 3½ years of the Tribulation Period.
Conclusion
Satan has a special desire to control the earth and has concentrated his powers and deceptions here to gain it for himself. Luke 4:6 quotes Satan speaking to Jesus saying, “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” It may be that the earth was Lucifer’s God-appointed principality and throne after his creation. Both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 indicate that Lucifer had a throne before his fall. It is evident, however, that he was not content to have a throne delegated by the Creator; he wanted the highest of the thrones, God’s Throne. This may be the reason he has been trying to take this planet, or regain it. The planet Earth also seems to be God’s darling planet or His elect planet of the universe. Whatever is dear to God, Satan wants. It became the singular place in the universe where God sent His Son to live and die, and to rise again and ascend back to heaven. This is the planet where salvation was wrought for mankind, and it will be the place, according to prophecy, where Christ will set up His kingdom. It will also be the place in the new earth that God will move His Throne for the rest of eternity. The Devil knows that the earth is a special place in the universe to God.
There are three angels mentioned in Scripture whose names are revealed: Gabriel, Lucifer, and Michael. Gabriel seems to be representative of the Father; Michael seems to be representative of the Holy Spirit; and Lucifer, the anointed cherub which covered the throne, was close to the Son. Of the three angels, Lucifer was the one who fell, the one appointed to the Son. Perhaps this fact is the reason that the Son came to earth to purchase salvation for this earth and to ultimately fully restore it. So many characteristics mentioned in Ezekiel 28:12–19 about Lucifer (the power behind the king of Tyre) resemble the Son of God and may explain Satan’s intense anger and hatred focused against the second member of the Trinity. We must remember that God did not create Satan; God created Lucifer. Satan was self-born within Lucifer, the illustrious one.
We know that the Antichrist as a person is yet to come, but even now are there many antichrists. They have come in the preliminary personalities of rulers such as Marx, Engels, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler, and even those of more contemporary times. The apostle John revealed that these antichrists will be found in and among God’s people. We are told by Christ in Matthew 24:15 and by the apostle Paul (2 Thess. 2:4) that Antichrist will appear in the Holiest of Holies of the Jewish Temple in the Tribulation Period. But his spirit (many antichrists) is even found in the holy place of the institutional Church today.
If Antichrist will be the embodiment of the “lie,” of which Satan is the father (John 8:44), how will he come into the world? Will Satan devise a scheme and plan (as the Father designed a plan for His Son to come)? Will Antichrist be presented to have had a “super” to the natural birth? Will his birth certificate be carefully forged to accommodate him to the world? Will the global people actually know from whence he came? To deceive the Jewish nation into accepting him, he will have to present himself as Jewish; but how will this be deceptively rendered? Will the truth be known about his real father and mother? Will he come on the national scene with a wife and children and yet not really be married? Will he be a sodomite, yet present himself with a “politically” appointed wife and children to maintain the deception? Will the preparation of his early years be hidden from the world and molded by an elite group of men? Will these men finally present him to the world with all the deceptive, forged documents that will be the most ideal in order for humanity to accept him? Will his entire life be a lie formed and fashioned for global acceptance? There certainly will be many mysteries and hidden peculiarities.
According to Daniel 7:25, when Antichrist comes he will try to “wear out the saints.” The antichrists of our time are endeavoring to do the same. The tactic today may not be to kill God’s people but to wear them down through laws, regulations, and mandates forced upon the Christians against God, His Son, and the Bible until they finally give in to the changes demanded of them. May God help us, even now, in these days of the prelude to the coming of “the” man of sin.