Kingdom Disciples

The Spirit of the Antichrist works to destroy the church from within through deception propagated by false teachers and false prophets – 1 John 2:18-22. In popular preaching, the  Antichrist  is a political tyrant determined to rule the world for Satan. Yet Jesus and his Apostles expressed far more concern about deceivers who spread false teachings among Christ’s disciples and in the Church. Moreover, the New Testament applies the term ‘ Antichrist ’ to false teachers infiltrating the Body of Christ to distort the Apostolic Tradition.

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

The term “antichrist” occurs only in the second and third letters of John, and the Apostle applies the plural form of the Greek noun to deceivers who were spreading false teachings in his congregations. The presence of “ antichrists ” constituted irrefutable evidence that the “ Last Days ” were underway, and the false teachers were the product of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ,” forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who was yet to come.

In his first epistle, John declares it is the  Last Hour , a period elsewhere in the New Testament called the “ Last Days .” As evidence of this, he points to the presence of false teachers who are disrupting the congregations under his care. These deceivers are the products and instruments of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ” that is active already in the world, and these very same men are forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who is yet to come.