It is not proposed to give in this brief paper anything like a treatise upon this subject, but rather to gather the teachings of Scripture for the benefit of those who desire a concise statement.
The word"Antichrist" occurs only in John's epistles (i Jno. 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jno. 7).Twice in these passages the apostle declares the coming of Antichrist had been predicted. He connects this with the last days, and adds, " Even now are there many antichrists." These are recognized by their apostasy from the truth, the denial of the Father and the Son. We have therefore two thoughts connected with the word:a denial of Christ, no matter by whom; and the great apostate of the last days who is specially characterized by this denial. It is a solemn fact therefore that all denial of the fundamental truth of Christ is linked with the final apostate whose end we shall see in a little. It is however with the individual, the Antichrist, that we deal now. We shall have no difficulty in recognizing him in the various passages to come before us.
1. Matt. 24:24:"There shall arise false Christs and false prophets." Frequently, in this His last prophetic discourse, our Lord warns His disciples against deceivers coming in His name. This therefore again points to the "last days"-not during the Church period, but just prior to His return and kingdom-as the time when this false Christ shall appear.
2. 2 Thess. 2:3, 8:"A falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed . . . Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth," etc. Here again the time is "the last days." So long as the Spirit in the Church is here (and that is until the Lord catches His Church away), so long is there a hindrance to the development of full apostasy and the revelation of the Antichrist. He is marked by the apostasy we have already spoken of, and here it is added that he exalts himself as God in His temple.
This mention of the temple shows us not only that the Church period is past, but that the one who falsely assumes divine honors does so in connection with the "Temple." He must therefore be one who links his false claims with Jewish hopes and expectations. He must therefore be a Jew.
3. Dan. ii:36, 37:"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished . . . neither shall he regard the God of his fathers." The identity of this person with the one just described in 2 Thess. is manifest. Indeed the apostle Paul was evidently quoting from this scripture. Notice the expression "the God of his fathers." Therefore he is a Jew, for none other would be so described.
4. Rev. 13:11-18:"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon," etc. This second beast (in contrast with the. first beast of this chapter, who comes up from the sea, the nations) comes from the earth or land, a well-known type of Israel. Here again we see his lying wonders spoken of in 2 Thess. His lamb-like appearance also marks him as the false Christ, while the speech of the dragon shows the Satanic power which is behind him.
At this point we must point out the contrast between these two "beasts" in Rev. 13. The first beast rises from the sea, whose turbulence under the power of the wind is a figure of the nations lashed into fury by the "prince of the power of the air." He is the ruler who, by conquest, under Satan's energy gains possession of the revived Roman Empire. He is atheistic and blasphemous, but his rule is political rather than religious. He is a great persecuting power, the man who oppresses the true remnant of Israel. (See Dan. 7:8, "the little horn; " Dan. 9:27, "the Prince that shall come.") It is in this latter way that he comes in touch with the Jews, and makes a covenant with them, which he violates in the " midst of the week," leaving the 3^ years, or 42 months, or 1260 days in which the great tribulation (Rev. 7:14) will take place. This "Beast" will, by conquest and agreement, receive the imperial power from the ten confederate nations of western Europe. (See Rev. 17:12-14.) The Antichrist, on the other hand, is the false Messiah, the religious ruler of the Jews, who for purposes of his own gain makes the covenant with the western power. He thus becomes the religious representative of the great Imperial Power of Rome, and both are arrayed against another power of evil – the Eastern " Desolator " of prophecy.
5. Rev. 19:19, 20:"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet . . . These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Here we see the end of both the political and the religious apostasy-the Beast and the false prophet. Blessed consummation for a groaning earth, which has been "destroyed" by the violence and wickedness of the apostasy.
Returning for a moment to the first scriptures referred to, we read with a fresh solemnity:" Even now are there many antichrists." Shall we have fellowship with that apostasy which, under whatever name-of progress, culture, philosophy-denies the Son of God ? The inevitable doom of all antichrists is the same-the lake of fire. S. R.