The Truth about Antichrist
by J. Hartline
© 1983, 1998, 2009
I'm sure, if you have heard any of the "end-time" preaching on TV, or read Hal Lindsay's books, you have heard about "the Antichrist." You may have heard your pastor speak of such a one from the pulpit.
This one that they refer to as "the Antichrist" is described as some awful world leader who is said to come on the scene at the beginning of the "great tribulation," and then halfway through the "great tribulation," he shows his true colors and does all sorts of terrible things to Christians (those who will not take the "mark of the beast"). And it goes on and on. The same people believe that all Christians will be "raptured" off the earth before the great tribulation, so I don't know who those Christians are who are persecuted by the Antichrist. I don't think they have thought their doctrine through.
What does the Bible have to say about this? It is really quite simple and easy to understand if you do not allow someone with the futurist view to cloud up your thinking. The word "antichrist" is only mentioned five times, all in the books of 1 John and 2 John. It is not to be found anywhere else in the Bible. I am listing all the scriptures that mention antichrist below, with comments.
1 John 2:18, "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour."
The apostle John was writing this in a letter to the church. He was writing to real people who were alive on the earth at that time. He was not writing to us today, nor to those who have lived in the generations in between then and now. There is no "code" word there in the scriptures to transfer what he was saying to a different time or later generation. He stated emphatically that "it is the last hour" (at that time) and that "many antichrists have arisen," and he said that this was evidence that it was the "last hour." He did not say that "the" antichrist had arisen, but "many" antichrists.
He goes on in verse 19 to say: "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, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us."
He was talking about people who had been there with them, not some strange person who would be in charge of a "one world government." There is no one called "the antichrist," in the Bible that is any such world leader.
The next mention of "antichrist" is in 1 John 2:22 "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."
This tells us one of the marks of an "antichrist," one who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Then in 1 John 4:2&3 "By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3. and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world."
Could it be any clearer? He has given us another attribute of an "antichrist," that he is one who does not confess Jesus. Then he goes on to reiterate that the spirit of antichrist "now is already in the world." He's not writing about an antichrist coming in the year 2000, but at the time he was doing the writing, which was probably around A.D. 60-66. The antichrists he was writing about were already in the world at that time.
2 John 1:7 "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."
John was making the church aware that those who had walked away from them, denying that Jesus is the Christ were "antichrists." The word "antichrist" is from the Greek word "antichristos,"which means one who is an opponent of Christ. He simply wanted them to be enlightened as to what the "spirit of antichrist" was. There is absolutely nothing in these scriptures to say that some world ruler called "the antichrist" was ever to come upon the earth.
So where does all this doctrine come from? The Worldbook Encyclopedia states, under the article on "antichrist" and the war between good and evil as the final battle on earth: "The idea of such a final war between good and evil occurred among Babylonians, Persians and Jews before being adopted by Christians." Of course the first three didn't call him "antichrist," but they had the same idea.
The modern day proponents of the futurist doctrine have misapplied the word "antichrist" to the "beast" of Revelation Chapter 13. Then they tie in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 2 concerning the man of lawlessness and try say that all this describes "the antichrist." This is a twisting of the scriptures making them say something that was never intended.
The "beast" of Revelation Chapter 13 was to come at the time of the "great tribulation," which occurred between A. D. 66 and A. D. 73. The great tribulation is well documented on our webpage. index.html
Origin of the End-Time Doctrine
by J. Hartline
© 1998, 2000
Where did the doctrine of the End-Time begin?
What is known as "End-time" doctrine originated with the "Olivet Discourse" of Jesus Christ. Because the origin of the "great tribulation" doctrine comes from the teaching of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, the Scriptures in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 should be the main source of Scripture that we study to learn about the subject.
The Great Tribulation and the "End-Time" is inextricable tied together. The "End-Time" is one doctrine where the majority of Christians are in darkness. The truth concerning the fulfillments of the Olivet Discourse has, for many years, been neglected. Those fulfillments are a powerful testimony to the authenticity of Jesus. Only honest people, who desire to know the truth, should venture further into this web page.
Do you believe that Jesus Christ Was
a False Prophet?
Do realize that the traditional Futurist position of Eschatology denies the fulfillments of the Prophecies of Jesus on the Mt. Of Olives (Olivet discourse). Most people are futurists because that is what they have been taught, so they espouse beliefs that make Jesus appear to be a false prophet.
Imminence
There are nearly 100 imminence or "time-statements" connected with these prophecies of Jesus, and if the prophecies have not come true, He would be a false prophetaccording to the Bible definition found in Deuteronomy 18:22.
Click here to read Deuteronomy 18:22
Do you believe that after 2000 years, none of His prophecies have come to pass?
When did Jesus promise to return?
Jesus didn't promise to return in 2000 years. The time statements found in the Bible tell us a different story. They repeatedly tell of events that must SOON come to pass. 2000 years later is NOT soon. He said these events would occur in THAT generation, before all the people living at that time died. These events did come to pass, within the 40 years following His statements.
Let me be quick to say, Futurists do not intentionally call Jesus a false prophet, they would say emphatically that He is not, but because of ignorance of the true meaning of the Scriptures, their "end-time" doctrines make Him appear to be a false prophet. They do not fully understand what they believe, nor why they believe it, but they will almost fight you over it. It is more emotional than logical. I fear that many futurist ministers do not want to accept the preterist point of view because it could undermine their financial base. That is, they are afraid of losing members. Sounds like the Pharisees. I believe that we should always accept and propagate the truth, no matter the consequences. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
I challenge all futurists to try to explain away the 67 very clear time statements found here.
