What precedes the Antichrist
'Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us'.
(1 John 2:18-19)
About 2000 years ago, the Apostle John wrote about the Antichrist while mentioning that we were in the last hour. When we read the passage of 1 John 2:18-19, we can see that the Apostle John mentions that ‘many Antichrists have come’.
That may sound confusing, especially when most of us expect the Antichrist to be this one main evil figure who will appear sometime in the future.
Why did John say: ‘many Antichrists have come’?
Most of us know that the antichrists are sent by Satan.
The Antichrist is, among other things, an end times character destined to help Satan rule over the world and fight the final Judgment of God.
Since Satan does not know the exact day of his final demise, he needs to be ready all the time. For this reason, over the past centuries, he has always had a few figures or men who would stand in for him as antichrists.
Let me explain this with an example: ‘if you knew that a violent thief would come to your house within the next to two years. Would you not try to remain ready against any bad eventuality? You would surely arm yourself, get electronic alarms, insure your home and perhaps hire securities for protection.
It is the same thing with Satan.
In Revelation 16:15, Jesus said:
‘Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”
To Satan, Jesus is coming like a thief. Therefore, Satan has an interest in remaining ready. This is why he always had antichrist figures who would stand in to be the main Antichrist.
Many historical leaders were people who were standing in as antichrist figures. And if the time was right, those figures would rise to the occasion in view to become the main Antichrist.
Even now, as we speak, Satan already has his candidates. You will know them by their policies, ideas and the manner in which they despise Christianity.
The final Antichrist
Eventually, at a certain point, there will be one figure that will rise when the time is ripe.
We know that figure will be a man since the Bible calls him the ‘Man of lawlessness (ref. 2 Thessalonians 2:3). The Antichrist will not be a boy, nor a girl, nor a woman. He will be a full grown man.
What feeds the coming of the antichrist?
For the final antichrist to be revealed, there has to be certain conditions that will precede him. Those conditions are marked by an era of darkness where the lights of the Church are dimed.
In Matthew 24:15, Jesus mentions the arrival of the antichrist will be preceded by the following events: deception, wars, the arrival of many false Christs, famine, earthquakes, persecution of Christians.
Those events form the necessary ingredients that will make it easier for the Antichrist to rise. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul states that there will be an apostasy in the church before the arrival of the Antichrist. In other words, many Christians will walk away from the faith. Such apostasy could be caused by deception and the persecution against the church as mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24. Once many Christians would have been persecuted, once many would have fallen prey to false Christs, darkness will loom upon the earth and the Antichrist will easily rise.
This is why the enemy wants to pervert the church with new teachings and new progressive ways of thinking, the enemy wants to bring chaos in the world so that the Antichrist can come quickly.
But if we shine our lights through our deeds in our generation, then the Antichrist will have a hard time to rise during our generation.
(1 John 2:18-19)
About 2000 years ago, the Apostle John wrote about the Antichrist while mentioning that we were in the last hour. When we read the passage of 1 John 2:18-19, we can see that the Apostle John mentions that ‘many Antichrists have come’.
That may sound confusing, especially when most of us expect the Antichrist to be this one main evil figure who will appear sometime in the future.
Why did John say: ‘many Antichrists have come’?
Most of us know that the antichrists are sent by Satan.
The Antichrist is, among other things, an end times character destined to help Satan rule over the world and fight the final Judgment of God.
Since Satan does not know the exact day of his final demise, he needs to be ready all the time. For this reason, over the past centuries, he has always had a few figures or men who would stand in for him as antichrists.
Let me explain this with an example: ‘if you knew that a violent thief would come to your house within the next to two years. Would you not try to remain ready against any bad eventuality? You would surely arm yourself, get electronic alarms, insure your home and perhaps hire securities for protection.
It is the same thing with Satan.
In Revelation 16:15, Jesus said:
‘Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”
To Satan, Jesus is coming like a thief. Therefore, Satan has an interest in remaining ready. This is why he always had antichrist figures who would stand in to be the main Antichrist.
Many historical leaders were people who were standing in as antichrist figures. And if the time was right, those figures would rise to the occasion in view to become the main Antichrist.
Even now, as we speak, Satan already has his candidates. You will know them by their policies, ideas and the manner in which they despise Christianity.
The final Antichrist
Eventually, at a certain point, there will be one figure that will rise when the time is ripe.
We know that figure will be a man since the Bible calls him the ‘Man of lawlessness (ref. 2 Thessalonians 2:3). The Antichrist will not be a boy, nor a girl, nor a woman. He will be a full grown man.
What feeds the coming of the antichrist?
For the final antichrist to be revealed, there has to be certain conditions that will precede him. Those conditions are marked by an era of darkness where the lights of the Church are dimed.
In Matthew 24:15, Jesus mentions the arrival of the antichrist will be preceded by the following events: deception, wars, the arrival of many false Christs, famine, earthquakes, persecution of Christians.
Those events form the necessary ingredients that will make it easier for the Antichrist to rise. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul states that there will be an apostasy in the church before the arrival of the Antichrist. In other words, many Christians will walk away from the faith. Such apostasy could be caused by deception and the persecution against the church as mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24. Once many Christians would have been persecuted, once many would have fallen prey to false Christs, darkness will loom upon the earth and the Antichrist will easily rise.
This is why the enemy wants to pervert the church with new teachings and new progressive ways of thinking, the enemy wants to bring chaos in the world so that the Antichrist can come quickly.
But if we shine our lights through our deeds in our generation, then the Antichrist will have a hard time to rise during our generation.