Antichrist
The word “antichrist” (in Greek antichristos) occurs in 1 John
What is Known about the Antichrist?
The author of 1 and 2 John links in with an existing tradition. First century Jews were expecting the coming of Belial
- The antichrist spreads false teaching about the Christ. He denies that Jesus is the Christ and that Jesus came to earth as a human being.
- The antichrist is not human, but a supernatural being.
- The coming of the antichrist was expected to happen before the return of Christ.
- The antichrist is the eschatological opponent of the Christ.
The Function of the Antichrist
According to the author of John’s epistles, the end times are at hand. The fact that the congregation is resisting his teaching is for him a sign of the coming of the antichrist. This also means that Christ will return soon. History has therefore moved into a critical phase. The members of the congregation must now make a choice, for or against the correct teaching.
Similar Characters in the New Testament
The antichrist is only mentioned in 1 and 2 John. But other persons are mentioned in the New Testament who can be compared to the antichrist. The most important of those are:
- False prophets and false messiahs. These are people who make a false claim to be the messiah — people who imitate Christ (see for example Matthew 24:23-28
; Mark 13:21-23 ; Luke 21:8-9 ). - The lawless one. This person will cause a climax of unrighteousness and is a representative of Satan. He is mentioned in Daniel 11:36
and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9 . - The false prophet and the beast. In Revelation
, these two figures are the representatives of Satan who terrorise the earth. The false prophet and the beast refer to the Roman Empire and the emperor , and the worship of the emperor and the empire.
Apocalyptic Literature: Message
In order to understand the purpose of the apocalyptic literature, we must keep in mind who the “good guys” are. In apocalyptic descriptions, they are the people who suffer the most during the world order of evil. Who are these people? The answer is obvious, it is the people for whom the apocalyptic books were written, the readers that the writer had in mind. In Revelation, that is the Christians who are being persecuted.
Hold On, There is a Better Time Coming
The purpose of the apocalyptic writings is to encourage the people for whom they were written. The message is: hold on. It is tough now and it will get even tougher, but soon there will be a turn-around. The world order of evil will make way for the world order of God, and that will be a joyful time.
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