Antichrists, plural

The Spirit of the Antichrist works to destroy the Body of Christ from within using deceivers and false teachers – 1 John 2:18-22.

The term Antichrist is applied in the New Testament to deceivers who work in the Church to “make merchandise” of God’s sheep, false teachers who infiltrate the Assembly to distort the Apostolic Tradition and introduce “doctrines of demons.”

The Apostle Paul confronted “false brethren who had slithered in stealthily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might enslave us,” for example. He did not give so much as an inch to these false teachers.

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The “Spirit of the Antichrist” is linked with false teachings and liars in the first two epistles of John. It operates through false teachers who peddle deception to the unsuspecting and the biblically ignorant. John is the only New Testament author to employ this term. The presence of such false teachers in the church demonstrates that it is the “last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.”

John does not deny that a final “antichrist” will come, but in the meantime, many “antichrists” already are infiltrating the Church and deceiving many followers of Jesus - (1 John 2:18-22).

The Greek term translated as “antichrist” is a compound of the noun ‘christos’ (“anointed”) and the preposition ‘anti’. The latter denotes “instead of” rather than “against.” An “antichrist” is someone who attempts to counterfeit the true Christ, and the “antichrists,” plural, to whom John referred were those who “went out from us, but they were not of us… But they departed that it might be plain that they all are not of us.”

He admonished his congregations to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” He warned of “the spirit of the antichrist of which you heard is coming, and now, it is already in the world.”

These “antichrists” were false teachers active in John’s congregations, not political leaders of the larger world. They were denying the genuine humanity of Jesus, among other things - (“Know the Spirit of God by this: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is of God” - 1 John 4:1-3, 2 John 7).

Similarly, Paul warned of the coming “Man of Lawlessness,” an individual with the ability to deceive believers, including the use of “signs and wonders” to mislead and cause “apostasy.” Paul warned the church of Thessalonica to “let no one in any way deceive you.”

The Apostle pinpointed the event when this figure would be unveiled, when he “seated himself in the Sanctuary of God,” a description that is more religious than political.

Elsewhere, Paul uses the term “Sanctuary” or ‘naos’ metaphorically for the Body of Christ. This figure will be revealed in the Assembly, at least, to those with eyes to see - (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16).

The Apostle linked this “Man of Lawlessness” to the coming “Apostasy” that must occur before the “Day of the Lord.” His activities will be “in accord with those of Satan,” including “lying signs and wonders” intended to deceive believers, or at least, those who reject the “love of the truth”:

• “…With all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness” -(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

SERPENTS AND BEASTS

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” - (Revelation 12:5-17).

Likewise, the “Beast from the Sea” was authorized to wage “war” against the “saints and to overcome them.” In both images, Satan persecutes the saints, and his earthly agent, the “Beast,” is his instrument. The “saints” are identified as those with the “faith of Jesus.” The Devil’s purpose is to destroy the Church, not to wage wars of aggression against nation-states - (Revelation 12:17, 13:6-10, 14:12).

In the seven letters to the “Assemblies of Asia,” Satan attacked the congregations with persecution from without and deception from within, and most often, with the latter. The “Dragon” and his earthly agents conduct warfare against the “Lamb” by attacking anyone who follows him, and his preferred weapon is deceit from within - (Revelation 2:10, 2:18-29).

In his 'Olivet Discourse,' Jesus began with a dire warning about coming deceivers - “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).

Like snakes, false prophets and other deceivers slither their way into the Church and hoodwink disciples of Jesus. They do not work to deceive an already deceived world. Such warnings against deceivers are common enough in the Bible - (1 Timothy 4:1-2, 2 Peter 2:1-2).

The “Antichrist” may prove to be a global political leader. However, considering the warnings of the New Testament, we should not be surprised if this creature appears first in the Body of Christ where he and his fellow deceivers are working relentlessly even now to mislead the “elect” and cause their apostasy.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Danger from Within - (The greatest threat to Christ’s disciples comes from the deceivers inside the Church who spread false teachings and generate false expectations)

• Misdirection and Apostasy - (Believers watching for apostasy to occur outside the Church will miss the real thing since it is operating stealthily inside our congregations)

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

• Trompeurs dans l'Église - (La plus grande menace pour les disciples du Christ vient des séducteurs à l'intérieur de l'Église qui répandent de faux enseignements et génèrent de fausses attentes)