Antichrist is in the Church

The Antichrist is working to destroy the church from the inside, using clever lies, false prophets, and false teachers.

We assume the Antichrist will be a political tyrant who uses economic and military power to dominate the world. While this may prove to be the case, the New Testament is far more concerned with how deceivers are working to mislead the Church from the inside. The Apostle John identifies the driving force behind these efforts as the Spirit of Antichrist.

This does not mean the final Antichrist will not be a major political figure. In the Book of Revelation, the Beast from the Sea represents an imperial power modelled on the Roman Empire. However, Revelation never uses the term ‘Antichrist’.

Regardless, the target of the Beast’s war in Revelation is the Church, “the saints,” “those who have the testimony of Jesus,” and his target remains the same whether he uses political power, economic coercion, or religious deception against the Church. At the end of the book, the Devil gathers the “nations from the four corners of the Earth” to execute his final assault on “the camp of the saints” - (Revelation 12:17, 13:1-10, 17:8-12, 20:7-10).

Throughout the history of the Church, Satan has flooded the Body of Christ with deceivers who disseminate false teachings from the inside, as well as attacks from political systems and leaders on the outside.

[Python - Photo by Nivedh P on Unsplash]

And so, today, false prophets in the Assembly proclaim the messianic mission and status of certain politicians and their agendas. The Antichrist, the Son of Destruction, may operate outside the Church, but his agents and cheerleaders are active on the inside, and perhaps many church pulpits are under the control of the “Spirit of Antichrist,” as John calls it.

In his first two letters, John applies the term ‘Antichrist’ in the plural number to the false teachers who distort the Apostolic Teachings and entice believers to compromise their commitment to Jesus Christ.

The “Antichrist Spirit” is manifested in the activities of deceivers in the churches of Jesus Christ. Of the New Testament authors, only John uses the term ‘Antichrist’, and he does so when warning about false teachers:

• “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).

John does not deny that an individual Antichrist will come, but in the meantime, many antichrists invade the Church and propagate false doctrines. Among other things, they deny the humanity of Jesus and that he is the Messiah sent by God:

• “With this know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the Spirit of Antichrist of whom you heard it is coming, and now it is in the world already” – (1 John 2:18-22, 4:2-3).

Thus, an antichrist is someone who attempts to counterfeit the Son of God and replace him with a false Christ, a faux anointed one. This, perhaps, is what Jesus had in mind when he warned his disciples of coming “false prophets” and “false anointed ones”:

• “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they departed, that they might be made manifest that they were not of us” – (1 John 2:19).

These deceivers were not pagan philosophers or the representatives of Caesar, but men who started their careers by working in the Church. John admonishes his congregations to test all things since Satan floods the Church with deception and false prophets at every opportunity:

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

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

As John warned, the “Spirit of the Antichrist, of which you heard that it is coming, it is already in the world.” Antichrists are false teachers who disrupt the Church and deny that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and Son of God. The deceivers described by John are not national, military, or political leaders of the larger world, but religious charlatans “masquerading as apostles of Christ” – (2 Corinthians 11:13):

• “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Anointed One? This is the Antichrist, even he who denies the Father and the Son” – (1 John 2:22).

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

The Apostle Paul warns of the coming “Man of Lawlessness” in his second letter to the Thessalonians, an individual who will deceive believers and cause them to betray Jesus. This deceiver will use “signs and deceitful wonders” to cause many to abandon the faith. He will be revealed when he “takes his seat in the Sanctuary of God,” a description more religious than political - (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

Elsewhere, Paul uses the term “Sanctuary of God” or ‘naos theou’ for the Church. Like the “Spirit of the Antichrist,” the “Mystery is Lawlessness” is working even now to prepare the way for the arrival of this Son of Destruction and the “great falling away” from the faith - (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, 1Timothy 4:1).

• “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, they will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables” - (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Paul links this “Lawless Man” to the coming apostasy, the departure from the Faith expected before the Day of the Lord.

• “For false messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand” – (Matthew 24:24-25).

THE WAR AGAINST THE CHURCH

In the Book of Revelation, after his failed attempt to destroy the messianic “Son,” the “Great Red Dragon” departs to “wage war against those who have the Testimony of Jesus Christ,” namely, Christians - (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 the saints through his earthly vassals, the Beast from the Sea and the False Prophet - (Revelation 12:17, 13:7-10).

In the Seven Letters to the “Churches of Asia,” Satan attacks these congregations with persecution, but even more so, with deceivers, the “false apostles,” the “Nicolaitans,” the “doctrines of Balaam,” and the “Prophetess, Jezebel” who cause believers to compromise their faith by “eating meat offered to idols” - (Revelation 2:10, 2:18-29).

Deceivers strive to hoodwink Christians. They are guided and empowered by the Spirit of Antichrist. The Man of Lawlessness will appear before the return of Jesus, but the Mystery of Lawlessness is working even now to prepare for this man’s unveiling. So, also, the Spirit of the Antichrist is working busily to lay the groundwork for the final Antichrist and Satan’s final attempt to annihilate the People of God – (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9, Revelation 20:7-10).

Antichrist is in the Church, and this appears to be the case today more than ever.

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Apostasy - f(Paul warned of the future Apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man of Anarchy, the Son of Destruction)

• Howling Impostors - (The New Testament repeatedly warns of coming deceivers and false prophets who will cause many to depart from the faith)

• 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)

• L'Antéchrist est dans l'Église - (L'Antéchrist travaille à détruire l'Église de l'intérieur, en utilisant des mensonges intelligents, de faux prophètes et de faux enseignants)