Antichrists In the Church

Throughout the present age, the Church is being plagued by deceivers from within who are sent to destroy the Body of Christ. The Greek term translated as “Antichrist” in English versions of the New Testament is found only in two of John’s letters. In his first epistle, John warns his audience: “It is the Last Hour; and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.” John did not deny that an individual “Antichrist” would come. His point was that many “antichrists” were (and are) active in the Church.

This Greek term translated as “antichrist” is ‘antichristos’ (αντιχριστος), a compound of the preposition ‘anti’ and the Greek term for “Christ” or “anointed one,” namely, ‘christos’. The preposition signifies “instead of” rather than “against.” Thus, any “anti-christ” is someone working to replace the true Christ with a counterfeit – (Strong’s Concordance - #G500).

[Church Interior - Photo by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash]

John describes “antichrists,” plural. They “went out from us, but they were not of us; …but they went out that it might be plain that they all are not of us.” They were false teachers that first appeared in John’s congregations promoting false doctrines and denying the humanity of Jesus - (1 John 2:19. See also - 2 John 7).

John probably derived the term “antichrist” from the repeated warnings of Jesus about coming deceivers, “false anointed ones,” and “false prophets”:

• (Matthew 24:4, 24:24) - “Beware that no man deceives you… many will come in my name, saying, I am anointed, and deceive many… many false prophets will arise and deceive many… Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is Christ,’ or ‘there’; believe it not. For there will arise false anointed ones and false prophets and they will show great signs and wonders that, if it were possible, they will deceive the very Elect.”

Paul presents a similar scenario in his description of the “Man of Lawlessness” and that figure’s ability to deceive believers. The “Apostle to the Nations” connects this man to the coming “apostasy.” Paul’s words parallel Christ’s warning - “Let no deceive you in any way…” - (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

The “Lawlessness One” will seat himself in the “Sanctuary of God.” This is the only passage in which Paul expresses any apparent interest in the Jerusalem Temple. However, he elsewhere applies this and similar terms to the Church. The presence of God that previously dwelt in the old Temple now resides in the “Body of Christ.”

The church is the ‘naos theou’ or “Sanctuary of God” (ναος θεου), the same term Paul uses when describing the unveiling of the “Lawless One” in the “Sanctuary”- (“Know ye not that ye are a sanctuary of God [‘naos theou’], and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Compare 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:19-22).

Paul bases his “Man of Lawlessness” on the figure of the “Little Horn” in the Book of Daniel. Originally, Daniel’s image portrayed the persecuting activities of the Seleucid King, Antiochus IV, a ruler remembered in Judaism as a deceiver who led many Jews to abandon their ancestral faith by his promotion of pagan practices and idolatry - (Daniel 7:7-8, 8:10-14, 11:30-36).

The Apostle Paul links this “Man of Lawlessness” to the coming “apostasy. This man will act “in accord with Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth to be saved” - (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

In Paul’s description, the emphasis is not on this man’s political authority or his military prowess, but on his ability to deceive and turn people from the faith. His purpose is to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ, and for that reason, Jesus will destroy him at his “arrival”:

• “And then the Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and paralyze by the manifestation of his arrival. His coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” - (2 Thessalonians 2:8-9).

IN REVELATION

In the Book of Revelation, the purpose of the “Beast from the Sea” is to “wage war against the saints,” not against other nation-states or the modern state of Israel. Consistently in Revelation, Satan and his vassals unleash “war” against the followers of Christ - (“The Dragon was enraged with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed… those who have the testimony of Jesus” - Revelation 11:7, 12:17, 13:7-10).

Even in the first century, deceivers were active in the Church attempting to seduce as many believers as possible away from the Truth. To this day, Satan’s goal remains the same, to instigate apostasy from the true faith. Moreover, warnings about coming deceivers and apostasy are common elsewhere in the New Testament. For example:

• (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) - “False apostles and deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.”

• (1 Timothy 4:1) – “The Spirit explicitly warns that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.”

• (2 Peter 2:1-22) - “False teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality and because of them, the way of the truth will be maligned.”

By misleading God’s Elect, Satan intends to destroy the church and its efforts to proclaim the Gospel. Only in this way can he attack Jesus and have any hope of postponing his own destruction. The Devil does this by sending “false prophets,” “false anointed ones,” and “many deceivers” to the Church so he might “deceive many” - (“Many will come in my name and deceive many” - Matthew 24:5, Revelation 12:12-17).

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SEE ALSO:

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned the Thessalonians of a future apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction)

• Seated in the Sanctuary - (The Man of Lawlessness will be unveiled when he seats himself in the House of God  - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

• Disinformation - (Disinformation about the day of the Lord caused alarm in the congregation at Thessalonica – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• The Spirit of Antichrist - (The Antichrist Spirit works to destroy the church from within, especially through deception propagated by deceivers and false teachers – 1 John 2:18-22)