A WORD ON THE ANTICHRIST

In this section, we intend to find answers to such questions as, who is the Antichrist? How can we identify
him from the scriptures? Are we to expect an individual as the Antichrist, or a group of people, Nations,
Organizations or the spirit that works in the lives of people?

Again, let us quickly re-state the popular “Antichrist” doctrine all over in Christendom today.
It is taught that the Antichrist is the direct “seed” of Satan, already given birth to and is hiding somewhere
in Europe, being nursed and trained by the Devil himself. That as soon as the Church is raptured out of
the Earth, this “super being” that is full of craftiness and skill shall emerge on the world scene as a
peacemaker.
That his first deal will be to offer to Israel peace and then allow them to begin to worship in a ‘rebuilt’
Temple in Jerusalem by offering their Animal sacrifices. But that after three years of peace, the Antichrist
shall renege on his peace covenant with Israel, stop them from entering the Temple and shall begin a
31/2 years of tribulation. That this horrible period of tribulation shall only come to an end when the Lord
Jesus and His saints shall descend from the sky in a silvery cloud, in order to set up His earthly kingdom
there in Jerusalem, upon the throne of David. This is the wonderful teaching that has kept the church on
tiptoe for years now.

A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF THE WORD “ANTICHRIST”

In 1 Jon 2:18-22 we read: “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. They went out from
us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but
they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from
the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but
because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the
Christ? He is antichrist, which denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same
hath not the Father; (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also”

First of all, the simple definition given by John is: “the one who denies the Father and the Son”. If we
must understand John’s statement here, he is saying that, you cannot claim to be worshipping the Father
and yet deny that Jesus Christ whom He sent is the Son of God. In other words, to deny that Jesus the
Christ is the Son of God is to deny the authority of the Father who sent Him as well, for you cannot accept
the authority of a person and yet deny or reject his envoy.

Again, he states that, it is a sign of the last hour. What hour could this be? Certainly it is the hour between
Passover and the inauguration of Pentecost, for in the words of Apostle Peter, quoting Joel, he said: “But
this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young
men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams’” Acts 2:17 KJV. When he used the word in
the last days, he was indicating the events that will take place within a period of time, amongst which is
that of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And so we find that, just as the Holy Spirit is a sign of the last
days, the Antichrist is also to be manifested within this period.

Furthermore, John said, “ they went out from among us…many Antichrists have risen” indicating that
these people were once believers but came out of the Church. Does this not prove that the right place to
look for the Antichrist spirit is the Church? Sure enough! If you must follow it in the context of John’s
statement, then these must be the Jews who have accepted Christ and later turned around and began to
embrace Judaism, thereby denying the saving Grace that is in Christ for the Law. This is why in Rev. 2: 9
we read: “… I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the
synagogue of Satan.”
In the words of J.Preston Eby, and I quote “In I Jn. 2:18 we read, ‘Little children, it is the last hour: and as
you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; wherefore we know that it
is the last hour.’ God's penman, 1900 years ago wrote, that as the coming of the antichrist heralds the last
hour, therefore, since there were at that time "many antichrists", this fact proved that he himself was living
then in the "last hour". And if he, John the beloved, saw many antichrists in his day, after only a few
decades of progression into the dispensation of the Spirit, how much more may we today say that there
are "many antichrists" after 1900 years of apostasy and shame, during which time God also said that "evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (II Tim. 3:13). How much
more should we today expect to find the Church full of these antichrists, since God also promised that in
this same age "there will be a time when they will not endure wholesome instruction, but, having itching
ears, will accumulate teachers for themselves, according to their own lusts; and they shall indeed turn
away from the hearing of the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (II Tim. 4:3-4). John saw many
antichrists in his day. The number has been increasing steadily, all through the years, until we now find
ourselves surrounded with these men. But who are they, what are they, and how do we recognize them?

“First, let us consider the meaning of the word. It comes from a compound Greek word made up of the
preposition "anti" and the Greek word for Christ which is "Christos". "Anti" is a Greek word meaning
"opposed to" or "instead of" or both of these meanings. The Greek word "christos" means, "anointed".
When "anti" is compounded with a noun signifying an agent of any kind, or functionary, the compound
signifies a vice-functionary, or a functionary of the same kind opposing, or sometimes both. Some apply
only the first meaning - a person "against" Christ. But this would not be a very specific point of
identification. Millions of people have been against Christ. Paul, before his conversion, was "against"
Christ. The Jews, pagans, communists, and members of non-Christian religions of all kinds have been
against Christ. But such a broad application of the word could not be what John meant. His description is
far more definite than this!

“When John spoke of certain people, who were a type of antichrist, which was to come, he did not refer to
all opposers of Christ. Instead, he referred to a certain class of people - apostates who were teaching
things that were contrary to the revelation imparted by the Holy Spirit! These were not openly against
Christ; they were professing Christians and apparent ministers of Christ! Therefore we find that, the word
"antichrist" properly signifies one who opposes, or one who sets himself up, appropriating some of the
attributes of Christ. That is, antichrist would appear as Christ and by so doing would actually be AGAINST
Christ - unsurping that place that rightly belongs to Christ alone! Anything that is placed INSTEAD OF
Christ is literally antichrist. We have contained and practiced a lot of attitudes, ideas, beliefs, doctrines,
rituals, ceremonies, sacraments, ordinances, religious forms, Babylonish traditions, which have TAKEN
THE PLACE OF TRUTH AND REALITY in our lives. These may have contained bits and shades of truth
and life, but they WERN'T THE LIVING REALITY OF CHRIST HIMSELF at all! They were shadow, but
not substance; form, but not essence. Any little form of SUBSTITUTION that detracts from HIS
INDWELLING LIFE is ANTICHRIST.” End quote

A LOOK AT THE LITERAL MEANING OF THE WORD “ANTICHRIST”

So what do we see here? The antichrist is not just a matter of acting on behalf of another person like a
vice, but actually usurping the office or throne. And the word “Christos” simply stands for “the Christ or
anointing”. Therefore when we are talking of the antichrist, we are dealing with ANYONE who usurps the
very throne reserved for Jesus Christ. And all those who one way or the other support such a move either
by way of teaching or church organization, such that man is being promoted to the place of being
worshipped, are all under the spirit of antichrist. We can sum up this definition in the words of Apostle
John: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh is of God; And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God;
and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already it is
in the world” 1 John.4: 3-4.KJV.

ELEMENTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Although the full portrait of the Antichrist was not revealed in the OT, however it contains material
references to people and Nations that passes on as the Antichrist; which are both individuals and
Nations, that are commonly referred to as the “sons of Belial” [worthless, useless] which is a proper name
connected with the power of Evil Ps.18: 4; 2 Cor.6: 15

[A] INDIVIDUALS: The spirit of the “sons of Belial” manifest in the following ways: Idolatry [Dt.13: 13];
Sodomy and Rape [1 Sam.2: 17,25]; Disrespect for authority [1Sam.10: 27; 2 Chron.13: 7]; Lack of
hospitality [1 Sam.25: 17,25]; Perjury [that is knowingly make a false statement after swearing to an oath
to tell the truth – 1 kgs21: 10,13] and Evil speech [Prov 6:12,27]. These are some of the characteristics of
those who stand to revolt [Anti] against God [2 Chron 13:7] and God hates them [Ps 101: 3].

[B] THE SPIRIT IN NATIONS

This same spirit works in Nations that opposes the righteous kingdom of God [Ps.2] The satire of Isa.14
against the king of Babylon and the dirge of Ezek. 28 against the king of Tyre, though commonly applied
in Christendom as the fall of Lucifer, is really an adumbration [to indicate vaguely, foreshadow a coming
event, to suggest or describe something in an informal way] which truly foretells that which will befall the
evil satanic nature of man [Adam] that stands against God’s righteousness. These two accounts describe
the destruction that awaits Nations taking authority into their hands. This fruitless struggle for Nations to
frustrate God’s divine purpose for His people is clearly evident also in the destruction of the King of Gog
(Ezek 39:1-20,Rev.20: 7-10) who stood to oppose God’s own people.

And the Apostle declares, “The nations were angry with you, but now the time of your wrath has
come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants. You will reward your prophets and
your holy people, all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. And you will destroy all
who have caused destruction on the earth” Rev.11: 18 NLT.
“When the nations got angry, you became angry too! Now the time has come for the dead to be judged. It
is time for you to reward your servants the prophets and all of your people who honour your name, no
matter who they are. It is time to destroy everyone who has destroyed the earth” CEV.

From the above, we can see truly that the antichrist spirit is that Belial spirit that opposes God’s righteous
work both in Individuals and Nations.

© Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is permitted provided that complete source and
website information is included.

Ogaga O. David.
Gods Kingdom Advancement Initiative
P.O Box 3625, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria
www.gkai.net
admin@gkai.net