I would like to use the definition found in the books of John as the measure to find out who or what the Antichrist is. It is in fact the only place in the Bible that we get a direct definition not based on our interpretation of the Bible that discusses who and what the Antichrist is. I know that many well-known people have written extensively about the Antichrist, but as far as my research could find, nobody used the Bible only and then specifically John as the definition of the Antichrist. John is the only Apostle that mentions the Antichrist and describes him.

I would like to interrupt myself here by adding just one item that I believe is of utmost importance. I do not refer to the unregenerate person that thinks he or she is a Christian but cannot explain why they think that they are a Christian. This includes all the following people that Paul list in his letters. “Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1Cor 6:7-20)

So these people are still in Babylon and on their way to Hell, lost and without the LORD. You will find them on all Biblical chat groups, Christian online and print magazines, and like the one reference I found this morning when I looked at some of the commentaries to the “show” at half time of the Super Bowl on Sunday 2 February 2020: “OK, you lot didn’t like the halftime show. That’s perfectly all right. However, putting it down to some kind of moral decay of society is your particular viewpoint, which is not shared by the majority of the audience. And like it or not, we’re not going to “protect” your little varmints from things that bother neither us nor our own kids in the slightest”

So I am not referring to them at all in this writing, as this writing just looks at where the Antichrist comes from, and if we look at the Bible, you will see in the next paragraph who these people are that I am addressing in this book.

“Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” (1Jn 2:18-27)

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1Jn 4:1-6)

We also find that many Bible commentaries gives us additional information when we look at these verses of scripture, but as I said earlier, most people gets confused and start using their theology to define the Antichrist.

WHO IS CORRECT?

There are two extremely well-known pastors and writers who have two completely different approaches to this subject, and that is where I will start, just by way of introduction to see how big a gap we find today. On the one hand we find Rick Warren who is renowned for his book or series of books around The Purpose Driven Life/Church. The interesting part for me about this book is that it was based on a book published by Peter Drucker called Management By Objectives that I had as one of my prescribed books when I did a course after completing my studies at university in 1971. This was a course run by the University of South Africa and aimed specifically at management in medium to large organisations. Now the writer of the book is a well-known atheist and friend of Rick Warren. Together they changed it in order for it to be used by Churches and groupings across the world. However, the one area that we find in this book concerns the end times.

The second and maybe even a bigger threat to Christians than Rick Warren, is the people who support the rapture theory. They do so because of their inability to really understand the difference between a covenant and a promise. They also prefer to read Scofield’s notes on the Bible than reading the Bible without Scofield’s notes. One of the biggest contributing factors for this theology and its acceptance by people, is that I only have to pray this short sinner’s prayer and I am saved. I do not have to stop and change my life to live like a true Christian, as that would constitute work and I cannot work myself into heaven. I have already received my grace and therefor all my sins are forgiven and I can now continue with my life without any consequences. And of course the pastor leading this charge of Christian Zionists is John Hagee.

You can download the full book here to read through and hopefully understand who and what the antichrist is. Just in case you missed the link to the book the antichrist revealed it is here.