A notion found in the Bible only in the Johannine Letters, referring sometimes to a single figure and at other times to many who are adversaries and deceivers of God's people. In later centuries, it was conceived as a supreme evil figure, often identified with one's opponents.
The name Antichrist has come to represent the leader who, the Bible says, will rise to world dominance during the End Times just before the Second Coming.In the Old Testament
The Old Testament prophets referred to this End Times world leader who will dominate the whole world until the Messiah comes and establishes the Kingdom of God on earth. (Isaiah 14:25-26) The prophet Daniel called him “the ruler who will come” when he wrote that the Antichrist would first confirm a covenant with many. (Daniel 8:23-25)
Later texts and apocrypha
Related ideas and references appear in various apocrypha, and a more complete portrait of the Antichrist has been built up gradually by Christian theologians and folk-religionists. It purports to prophesy (although written after the fact—see postdiction) the arrival of the Christian emperor, Constantine, beginning:
Millennialists and anti-Semites have relished the document's suggestion that the Antichrist will be an Israelite:
Some believe that the Antichrist will be of Jewish descent, basing their claims on Daniel 11:37. This verse says "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" , (this may also indicate that the Antichrist will be either celibate or a homosexual ). Additionally, some believe, because of John 5:43, that the Antichrist may be accepted as Israel's and modern Jews' Messiah, and even set himself in a possibly rebuilt Third Temple in Jerusalem.
The expected role of the Antichrist
Christian denominations disagree on what will happen in the end times, and the role that Satan and the Antichrist will play. Among those who believe that the Antichrists of whom John was writing are instead a single individual and expect this one to arise in the future, there is a general consensus that sometime prior to the expected return of Jesus, there will be a period of "trials and tribulations" during which the Antichrist, inspired by Satan, will attempt to win supporters with great works, and will silence anyone or make enemies of any country that refuses their allegiance (by refusing to "receive his mark" on their foreheads or right hands). Finally, the "Dragon" (often interpreted as Satan), the "Beast" (often interpreted as the Antichrist) and the "false prophet" (interpreted in many ways) who compels the world to worship the Beast (lie), and all who received his mark (cast their lot with him), will be thrown into a lake of fire together with death and Sheol.
In other views, the role is far less dramatic - the Antichrist is simply believed to be a group of individuals as well as organizations, who, for their history of trying to deceive and stifle the faithful, are finally destroyed for all time by God on the day of Armageddon.
Characteristics of the Antichrist
According to the Prophet Daniel, the Antichrist is a stern faced king who is a master of intrigue and he will:
try to change the set times and the laws cause astounding devastation succeed at whatever he does destroy the mighty men cause deceit to prosper consider himself superior take his stand against Christ corrupt with flattery exalt and magnify himself above God say unheard of things against God show no regard for Christ honor a god of fortresses attack the mightiest fortresses honor those who acknowledge himIdentity of the Antichrist
According to the book of Revelation, a discerning person can identify the Antichrist by the number of the beast, specifically, 666 (or 616 in some minority texts). The Hebrew numerology called Gematria appears to be the most likely approach for calculating the numeric value of a name, although other numerology schemes are used in attempts to confirm the identity of the Antichrist.
Past identifications
Identifications from the Bible
Scriptural indications from where the Antichrist will come.
Identifications during the 1st millennium
According to Bernard McGinn, in Christianity's early days the Antichrist was identified variously as spirit of heresy (by Polycarp), the Roman empire (by Irenaeus), or the resurrected Nero (by John Chrysostom). Without a doubt, if he lacks love, and is only swelled up and lifted up, must he not be the Antichrist, 'sitting in the temple of God, and also showing himself as God'”?
Identifications during the 2nd millennium
Similarly, another idea that began appearing early in the history of the Christian church is that the Antichrist will be an apostate priest or Christian secular ruler, perhaps a Pope or other high leader of the Christian church, or a pretender to the Papacy.
Some Christian groups have made it an issue of faith to identify the Bishop of Rome and the papal system as the Antichrist. early Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Knox, Cotton Mather, John Wesley and Ian Paisley, identified the Roman Papacy as Antichrist . Virtually all popes have been called the Antichrist by their enemies, and many popes have applied this title of "Antichrist", "son of perdition", or "man of sin", to their enemies as well.
In return, some Catholics expected a son of Martin Luther to be the Antichrist, as his scion would be the son of an ex-priest and ex-nun.
After the reforms of Patriarch Nikon to the Russian Orthodox Church of 1652 a large number of Old Believers held that tzar Peter the Great was the Antichrist , because of his treatment of the Orthodox Church, namely separating church from state, requiring clergyman to conform to the standards of all Russian civilians (shaved beards, being fluent in French), and requiring them to pay state taxes.
Preterists look to an early antichrist.
In this tumultuous period, superstitious fear and mob violence grew against Christians, and the Roman wars against the Jews intensified (AD 66–70), ending with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 under the command of general Titus (later emperor), and the slaughter of the Jews who were living at Jerusalem.
Paul of Tarsus has been theorized by some Muslims and others (notably English political radical Jeremy Bentham) to have fulfilled the role of the Antichrist within the chronicles of the New Testament of the Bible itself.
Widespread Protestant identification of the Papacy as the Antichrist persisted until the early-1900s when the Scofield Reference Bible was published by Cyrus Scofield. Westminster Confession of Faith:
The London Baptist Confession of 1689:
Contemporary identifications
Identifying the Antichrist has returned as a task in the Internet age, and has created a body of literature in its own right.
Since the Bible indicates that the antichrist beast may be identified by a number, "the number of the beast" which "is the number of a man" (Revelation 13:18), various numerological methods of calculating the number of the name of the Beast ("666" in most manuscript sources, "616" in a minority), and other methods are used to identify the Antichrist before he has the chance to lead astray.
In fact, getting someone's name to add up to 666 involves solving a very simple linear diophantine equation. The name of Jesus Christ himself can be made to add up to 666, and thereby linked to the antichrist, a result that exposes the meaninglessness of such techniques.
Revelation 13 contains another description of the Antichrist against which people try to match contemporary figures:
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great
authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. LaHaye and Thomas Ice publish a
newsletter that speculates about these matters, and they have also suggested that the rise of militant Islam in the 21st Century is a possible sign of the End Times, as being the false religion
and reign of the Antichrist, otherwise known as the False Prophet.
Jerry Falwell told a pastors' conference in January 1999 in a sermon on the Second Coming that the Antichrist was probably alive on earth, and certainly a Jewish male .
One of the more interesting Internet conspiracy theories about the Antichrist that has spawned as a result of renewed interest in the Magdalene-Christ debate, seemingly ties in both Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code while actually going a step further to put forth that the entire "Bloodline of Christ" theory is a well orchestrated and intentional hoax directed at the world yet having a single sinister goal to bring Bloodline believers into acceptance that one of these living "Bloodline descendants" will rise up to become a future Arthurian-like "Messianic figure" (not Christ, but the literal Antichrist), and that this Bloodline heresy is the very deception Secret Societies are using to promote this future Merovingian King onto the world stage.
German philosopher and son of Lutheran pastor, Friedrich Nietzsche, called himself the Antichrist. In his famous first book, The Birth of Tragedy, he wrote this passage: "As a philologist and man of words, I baptized it, taking some liberties (for who knew the correct name for the Antichrist?), after the name of a Greek god: I called it the Dionysian."
In addition, certain occultists and Satanists have proclaimed themselves to be the Antichrist, including John Whiteside Parsons. For example, the Book of Revelation does not necessarily say the Antichrist will be the son of Satan; This movie was so influential, in fact, that in most "Anti-Christian" movies following, it was naturally assumed that the Antichrist would be named Damien and be Satan's begotten son. he is the son of Satan and an obvious parody of The Omen The animal Antichrist from South Park (though at the end of this episode it is revealed that he was only part of a story made up by Cartman). Christina in the TV Series Point Pleasant Kevin Lomax is the son of Satan together with his half sister will give birth to the Antichrist in the movie "The Devil's Advocate", the character of Kevin Lomax is played by actor Keanu Reeves.
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