Tag: John

The “spirit of antichrist” is raising up deceivers within the church, though a final “antichrist” will also appear at the end of the age.

The only New Testament author who uses the term “antichrist” is John, and only in two of his letters. He applied it to “false prophets” who were active in his congregations, false brethren he charged with denying that “Jesus is the Christ” and had “come in the flesh.” Such men were of the “spirit of antichrist” that already was operating in the world in John’s day.

The Antichrist is a deceiver intent on destroying the church through deception, apostasy, and if necessary, persecution.

In many interpretations, the Antichrist is a global political leader bent on world domination. In the end, that may be the case. However, Jesus and the Apostles expressed far more concern about the many deceivers that would practice their trade within the church. For that matter, in passages about the Antichrist, the concern is about his deceptions that target believers.