Antichrist
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[edit] Definition
In Christian tradition, the Antichrist is a figure capable of working Satanic miracles who will acquire secular power, and become an object of veneration, shortly before the Second Coming of Jesus.
[edit] Texts
Notions about the Antichrist have been pieced together from various eschatological texts in the Bible.
[edit] 1 and 2 John: "antichrist shall come"
The only occurrences of the word "antichrist" in the Bible is in the letters ascribed to John:
- Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time ... Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2, 18, 22 [1])
- For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7 [2])
Although John uses the word "antichrist" to refer to any non-Christian, it would appear from the phrase "antichrist shall come" that he was expecting the arrival of some particular Antichrist; at least, this supposition is consistent with 1 John.
[edit] Thessalonians: "the man of sin"
In Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, he predicts the appearance of a "man of sin ... whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" as a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus:
- Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the Second Coming] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders ... (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9 [3])
It is not clear that the "man of sin" is the person to whom John is referring when he says "antichrist shall come", but it seems plausible.
[edit] Revelation: the second beast
Antichrist and the "man of sin" have also been associated with the second beast in the Book of Revelation:
- And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (Revelation 13:11-18 [4]; see also Revelation 14:19-11 [5] and Revelation 19:19-20[6])
On the one hand, this agrees with Thessalonians in that the second beast exhibits "powers and signs and lying wonders". On the other hand, the "man of sin" in Thessalonians exalts himself "above all that is worshipped" whereas the second beast makes people worship the first beast.
[edit] Daniel: the "abomination of desolation"
The Book of Daniel also contains a vision of the end times, and the first mention in the Bible of the resurrection of the dead:
- And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3 [7])
If one wants to take both Daniel and the New Testament as accurate end-time prophecies, it is necessary for the Antichrist to fit somewhere into Daniel's eschatological vision. One line of thought identifies the Antichrist with the "abomination of desolation":
- And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Daniel 12:11 [8])
Jesus also makes mention of the "abomination of desolation" as a sign of the last days:
- But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains. (Mark 13:14 [9]; see also Matthew 24:15-16 [10])
We should note that the words "spoken of by Daniel the prophet" do not occur in every translation, and so presumably not in every original text. However, it seems plain enough that Jesus is referring to the prophecy of Daniel.
However, identification of the "abomination" as the Antichrist/man of sin/second beast seem hasty. There is no hint that the abomination is a person; on the contrary "it" is "set up" by men "standing where it ought not". The "abomination" has usually been identified by scholars as a foreign idol set up in the Temple in Jerusalem.
[edit] Daniel: the "little horn"
The "little horn" in Daniel seems a better candidate for Antichrist:
- After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:7-8 [11])
This cryptic vision is explained later in the same chapter:
- The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end." (Daniel 7:23-26[12])
It is difficult to match the narrative of Daniel to the Revelation of John, but they do seem to agree here on the appearance of a blasphemous ruler attaining power shortly before Judgement Day.
[edit] Identifying Antichrist
Identifying Antichrist has always been a popular sport among some Christian groups. The most popular method is to choose a powerful man whom one dislikes, and use numerology to fit his name to the Number of the Beast mentioned in the book of Revelation.
Eventually the man in question dies or loses power without exhibiting any supernatural activity, marking people on their foreheads, et cetera, at which point eschatologists move on to another candidate.
Historical examples of men who have been candidates for Antichrist include Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Frederick the Great and Napoleon.
Modern candidates include[13]:
- George Bush [14]
- Bill Clinton [15]
- King Juan Carlos [16]
- Prince Charles [17]
- Javier Solana [18]
- Osama bin Laden [19]
- Vladimir Putin [20]
- Michael Gorbachev [21]
- Pope Benedict XVI [22]
Popes, of course, always get accused of being Antichrist; it goes with the job, like the hat and the infallibility.
U.S. Presidents, too, are always popular candidates. Even Jimmy Carter has been put forward as a candidate[23]. But is he really up to the job? One rather unlikely nominee is John F. Kennedy.[24] Yes, he's dead, but apparently that's no obstacle if you're the Antichrist.
