Disciples Digital Library

The church has been infiltrated by deceivers that are misleading many believers and causing not a few to apostatize. This comes as no surprise since Jesus and his apostles warned us about coming false teachers and  faux  prophets who are intent on disrupting the church and leading the church astray.

The spirit of the antichrist is raising up deceivers in the church, but a final Antichrist will also appear at the end of the age .  The Apostle John applies the term “ antichrist ” to false teachers who are disrupting his congregations, false brethren who deny that “ Jesus is the Christ ” and “ came in the flesh .” Such men are inspired and led by the “ spirit of the antichrist ” that is operating in the world.

The “ mystery of lawlessness ” is active in the world preparing hearts for the “ arrival ” of the “ Man of Lawlessness .” It will continue to do so until the appointed time when this figure “ comes out of the midst ” and appears in the “ sanctuary of God .” And he will employ “lying signs and wonders” to cause many disciples to depart from the faith.

The subject of the “ Antichrist ” raises many questions. Who is he? When will he appear? How will we recognize him? What is his “ mark ”? In popular preaching, he is a global political leader who uses military might to subjugate other nations and attack Israel. But if Satan is truly clever and cunning, why would he do the very things that we expect?

The Antichrist is a deceiver intent on eradicating the church and causing apostasy through deception .  In popular interpretations, the  Antichrist  is a political tyrant intent on world domination. Whether this proves trust, Jesus and his apostles expressed more concern about the  deceivers who ply their trade in the church . And in passages that refer to the  Antichrist , the issue is deceivers who infiltrate the church.

In his first epistle, John declares it is  the last hour , a period elsewhere called the “ last days .” As evidence of this, he points to the false teachers that are disrupting his churches. They are products of the “ spirit of antichrist ” that is active already in the world. And these deceivers are forerunners of the final “ Antichrist . ”

Throughout the present age, the Church is plagued with deceivers bent on misleading believers and disrupting the church .  The term “antichrist” is found only in John’s epistles. In the first one, he warns that “ it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come to pass .” And he applies the label to false teachers who originated within the church.

SYNOPSIS  -  In Revelation, “all” means “all.” All rulers and nations that refuse to follow the Lamb render homage to the Beast .  S ome interpretations of the “ beast ” from the  book of Revelation  insist the geographic and political reach of its rule will be limited. Apparently, certain nations will opt out of the final beastly empire and even resist its rule. While most nations will submit, one or two will not. Put another way, in this interpretation “ all ” ceases to mean “all.” - [ World Empire Photo by Christine Roy on Unsplash ].