The Spirit of Antichrist

The Spirit of Antichrist is working to destroy the church through deceptions propagated by false teachers. In popular preaching, the Antichrist is a political tyrant determined to conquer the world. However, Jesus and his Apostles were more concerned with the deceivers who spread false teachings in the Church than with politicians from the fallen world order. The New Testament applies ‘Antichrist’ and related terms to false teachers who distort the Apostolic Teachings.

“The Antichrist Spirit” is manifested in deceivers, false prophets, and their activities in the Body of Christ. The only New Testament author to use this term is John in two of his epistles. As he warned his congregations:

• “It is the last hour! And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists have come. Thereby, we know it is the last hour” – (1 John 2:18).

[Abandoned Church - Photo by Luc Constantin on Unsplash]

John did not deny that an individual Antichrist will come, but between now and the return of Jesus, many “antichrists” will invade the Church. Among other things, they deny the genuine humanity of Jesus:+

• “With this know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God” – (1 John 2:18-22, 4:1-6).

The Greek term translated as “antichrist” is a compound word formed with the noun ‘christos’ (“anointed”) and the preposition ‘anti’. The latter term denotes “instead of” rather than “against.” Thus, an antichrist is someone who attempts to counterfeit the Son of God and replace him with a false Christ, a faux anointed one. An antichrist is not ‘against Christ’, but ‘instead of Christ’.

“The antichrists,” plural, the ones to whom John refers are false teachers who “went out from us, but they were not of us <…> But they went out, that it might be plain that they all were not of us.” They were not pagan philosophers or representatives of Caesar, but men who began their ministry by working in the Church - (1 John 2:19).

John exhorts his congregations to test all things since Satan is flooding the world with many deceptions and deceivers at every opportunity:

• “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” – (1 John 4:1).

As John warns us, “the Spirit of the Antichrist, of which you heard that it is coming, is already in the world.” These men and women are false teachers who disrupt the Church and deny that the man Christ Jesus is the Messiah. They are not national, military, or political leaders of the existing world order, but religious charlatans:

• “For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even those who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist” - (2 John 7).

The Apostle Paul warned of the coming “Man of Lawlessness.” In 2 Thessalonians, he describes an individual who will deceive believers, not the surrounding pagan world. This figure will use “signs and deceitful wonders” to cause many believers to abandon the Apostolic Faith. This “Son of Destruction” will be revealed when he “takes his seat in the Sanctuary of God,” a description far more religious than political - (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

Elsewhere, Paul uses the term “Sanctuary of God” or ‘naos theou’ (ναος θεου) metaphorically for the Church, and not for any stone building standing in old Jerusalem. Like “the Spirit of the Antichrist,” “the Mystery of Lawlessness” is working even now to prepare the way for the arrival of this Master Deceiver - (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

Paul links this “Man without Law” to the coming “Apostasy,” the great “departure” from the Faith expected before “the Day of the Lord” begins. When this deceiver is revealed, his activities will be “in accord with those of Satan”:

• “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his arrival. His arrival is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are perishing, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God is sending them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness” – (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

• “The Spirit says expressly that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” – (1 Timothy 4:1).

• “And because of lawlessness being brought to the full, the love of the many will grow cold. But he that endures to the end, the same will be saved” – (Matthew 23:11-12).

BEASTS AND DECEIVERS

In the Book of Revelation, after his failed attempt to destroy the messianic “Son,” the “Great Red Dragon” departed to “wage war against those who have the Testimony of Jesus Christ,” namely, the followers of the Lamb - (Revelation 12:17).

Likewise, “the Beast from the Sea” is authorized to wage war against “the saints and to overcome them.” In both visions, Satan attacks believers through his earthly vassals, “the Beast from the Sea” and “the False Prophet.” The goal is to destroy the Church, not for the Beast or Antichrist to wage war on nations or the State of Israel - (Revelation 12:17, 13:7-10).

In the Seven Letters to “the churches of Asia,” Satan does attack believers with persecution, but more often, he uses lies and deceivers, the “false apostles,” “Nicolaitans,” “doctrines of Balaam,” and “the Prophetess, Jezebel,” to seduce believers into compromising their faith and “eating meat offered to idols” - (Revelation 2:10, 2:18-29).

Jesus began his sermon on the Mount of Olives with a dire warning about coming deceivers, “false prophets,” and “false anointed one” hellbent on deceiving “the elect of God.” They will even use miraculous signs to achieve their malevolent goals:

• “Beware lest anyone deceive you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and deceive many <…> and many will fall away <…> and many false prophets will arise and deceive many <…> False anointed ones and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect” - (Matthew 24:4-23).

The stress in Christ’s warning is on the term “many.” Many deceivers will come, and they will succeed in deceiving many of the saints.

Deceivers strive to trick us, the disciples of Jesus. They are driven by the Spirit of Antichrist to mislead and otherwise blind us. The Man without Law will appear before the return of Jesus, but the Mystery of Lawlessness is working even now to prepare the way for this figure’s unveiling.

And so, the Spirit of the Antichrist is at work even now as Satan lays the foundation for the final Antichrist.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Final Antichrist - (The Spirit of the Antichrist is raising up deceivers in the Church, but a final Antichrist will appear at the end of the age)

• The World Empire - (Imperial arrogance is the legacy of the Tower of Babel, humanity’s first attempt, but certainly not its last, to impose the world empire)

• 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)

• L'Esprit de l'Antéchrist - (L'Esprit de l'Antéchrist travaille à détruire l'Église par des tromperies propagées par de faux enseignants)

[Text printed in small capital letters represents citations of or allusions to passages from the Old Testament]