Who is the Antichrist
Thanks James for a great and thought-provoking question
This is a great question, as well as a very personal one and I have to admit I have tried to come at it from as many different directions as possible. Each of us approaches a question like this from the perspective of our own personal philosophies, based upon what we have been taught by teachers, parents and friends polished by culture, religion, philosophy, and environment … not to mention whatever personal research we have been drawn to. In other words, we all view this reality and what it presents to us through very unique and individual windows created by the spirit that is carried within, because we all view through different levels of consciousness, we bring different perspectives and philosophies into what applies to the question … our answers will fit and be comfortable to our place in time and space. There is no right or wrong answer to this question for all will reach and hold what is most appropriate for them at this moment in time.
I can, however, present some of the different facts that are available for you to ponder. This is one of those questions that calls for personal research, if you are inclined, to find what resonates best for you … and as you evolve, expand your consciousness, and become increasingly aware of the universal place we have within us, opinions may shift and change … or not.
Below is some of the material I was able to locate, by no means is it complete but it will give you some idea as to what’s out there if you do some research yourself …which I highly recommend.
The following material comes from … https://www.theopedia.com … Since I’m not a biblical theologian I had to dig for this information as well …
“Within eschatology, the Antichrist has come to mean a person or other entity that is the embodiment of evil and utterly opposed to truth. The English word Antichrist is taken from the Greek antíkhristos, which literally means “instead of Christ”.
Appearance of the word in the New Testament
To the surprise of many, the actual word “Antichrist” itself does not appear once in the Book of Revelation or the Book of Daniel and is never used at all by Jesus during his ministry including his discussion about the signs of the “End of the Age” in Matthew 24 and parallels.
The words “Antichrist” and “Antichrists” appear only four times in the Bible, specifically in the Apostle John’s First and Second epistles:
- Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22)
- Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)
- and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1 John 4:3)
- Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist (2 John 1:7).
Here it seems to describe any false teacher, false prophet or corrupter of the Christian faith, but sometimes also seems to indicate a specific person or a single spirit of deception that motivates false teaching, and whose presence is a sign of the end times. Many Christians identify this particular Antichrist with the man of sin or son of perdition mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2, and with several figures in the Book of Revelation including the Dragon, the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Whore of Babylon. The Antichrist is variously understood to be a group or organization, such as a consummately evil system of government or a false religion; or, more commonly, as an individual, such as an evil government leader, a religious leader that sets up false worship in place of the worship of Christ, the incarnation of Satan, a son of Satan, or a human being under the dominion of Satan.
The understanding of one person being ‘the’ Antichrist appears to be combined in 1 John with the idea of a class of persons. There John speaks of “many antichrists” who typify the “spirit of the antichrist” that was both present in the first century (“is in the world already” 1 John 4:3) and continues to exist down to this day. As John wrote, such an antichrist (opponent of Christ) is anyone who “denies that Jesus is the Christ,” “denies the Father and the Son,” “does not confess Jesus,” and does “not confess the coming of Jesus.”
Related ideas and references appear in many other places in the Bible and various apocrypha, so that a more complete biblical portrait of the Antichrist has been built up gradually by Christian theologians and folk-religionists. Matthew 24 warns of “false Christs” in several places, and of deceivers who would appear claiming falsely to be the returned Christ. (Matt. 24:5, 24)
In the “small apocalypse” of Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, a “man of sin”, “the son of perdition” is expected to set himself up in the temple of God, on the false pretense that he is God himself. This portrait of the Antichrist is reminiscent of the acts of Antiochus Epiphanes, who around 170 BC commanded Jews to sacrifice pigs on the altar, four times a year on the Shabbat, in tribute to him as the supreme god of the Seleucids. Paul appears to be warning his readers by this allusion to events in the past, to anticipate similar trouble in the future. Some Christians believe that the events warned of in this passage have already taken place soon after Paul warned of them. Many others believe that the Antichrist has yet to appear.”
As you can see there are many different ways of looking at this term/name and each should form their own opinion … it is always a good idea to question everything and then embrace what best resonates to the spirit within …in this world/reality wherein we all dwell there are really few absolutes and the window through which you view this reality will change and evolve as do you. Be flexible as you evolve and open to new ideas and philosophies that expand your horizons and the potential that rests within.