Antichrist

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In Christian eschatology and Islam, the Antichrist, Anti-christ or Dajjal (literally: anti, opposite; christ, messiah) has come to mean a person, image of a person, or other entity that is the embodiment of evil and utterly opposed to truth, according to Christianity, while convincingly disguised as wholly good and a bringer of truth. Modern associations with the term Antichrist--no doubt made to stir controversy--have ranged from Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Clinton to Apple's i-mac and Barney.

Origin and meaning

The English word Antichrist is taken from the Greek αντίχριστος antíkhristos, which literally means "instead of Christ".

The New Testament

Contrary to a popular misconception and to the surprise of many Christians and non-Christians, the actual words "Antichrist" or "Antichrists" do not appear in the entire text of the Book of Revelation (e.g. in relation to the Tribulation, Beast, Dragon, Whore of Babylon, False Prophet, etc.), the Book of Daniel (e.g. in relation to the Abomination of Desolation or the Beasts/Empires) or Paul's passages on the "Man of Sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2. The words "Antichrist" or "Antichrists" are never used by Christ during his ministry, including his discussion about the signs of the "End of the Age" in Matthew 24. While the word "Antichrist" does not appear in these sources, the concept has been recognized in that scripture warns against a false Christ image that becomes a living icon, and an object of worship (Revelation 13:14–15). Satan's plan is to be worshiped as God and Saviour (Isaiah 14:12–14; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4; 2 Corinthians 11:14).

The words "Antichrist" and "Antichrists" appear only five times in the Bible - in two of the Apostle John's three letters in the New Testament, 1 John and 2 John:

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18, ESV)

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22, ESV)

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 is it in the world. (1 John 4:3, ESV)

Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 1:7, ESV.)

In these contexts, "Antichrist" seems to describe any false teacher, false prophet or corrupter of the Christian faith, but sometimes also seems to indicate a specific person or single spirit of deception that motivates false teaching and whose presence is a sign of the end times. However, in popular understanding, many Christians identify this particular Antichrist with the "man of sin" or "son of perdition" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and with several figures in the Book of Revelation including the Dragon, the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Whore of Babylon. The Antichrist is variously understood to be a group or organization, such as a consummately evil system of government or a false religion, or more commonly as an individual, such as an evil government leader, a religious leader who sets up false worship in place of the worship of Christ, the incarnation of Satan, a son of Satan, or a human being under the dominion of Satan.

The understanding of one person being 'the' Antichrist appears to be combined in 1 John with the idea of a class of persons. There John speaks of "many antichrists" who typify the "spirit of the antichrist" that was both present in the first century ("is in the world already" 1 John 4:3) and continues to exist down to this day. As John wrote, such an antichrist (or opponent of Christ) is anyone who "denies that Jesus is the Christ"; "denies the Father and the Son"; "does not confess Jesus"; and does "not confess the coming of Jesus".

Matthew 24 warns of "false Christs" in several places, and of deceivers who would appear claiming falsely to be the returned Christ. (Matt. 24:5,24:24)

In the "small apocalypse" of Saint Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, a "man of sin", "the son of perdition" is expected to set himself up in the temple of God, on the false pretense that he is God himself. This portrait of the Antichrist is reminiscent of the acts of Antiochus Epiphanes, who around 170 BC commanded Jews to sacrifice pigs on the altar, four times a year on the Shabbat, in tribute to him as the supreme god of the Seleucids. Paul appears to be warning his readers, by alluding to events in the past, to anticipate similar trouble in the future. Some Christians believe that the events warned of in this passage took place soon after Paul warned of them, but many others believe that the Antichrist has yet to appear.

Related ideas and references appear in many other places in the Bible and various apocrypha, and a more complete portrait of the Antichrist has been built up gradually by Christian theologians and folk-religionists.

Later texts and apocrypha

One such apocryphal text is the apocalyptic pseudo-prophecy falsely attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl. It purports to prophesy (although written after the fact—see vaticinium ex eventu) the arrival of the Christian emperor, Constantine, beginning:

Then will arise a king of the Greeks whose name is Constans. He will be king of the Romans and the Greeks. He will be tall of stature, of handsome appearance with shining face, and well put together in all parts of his body...

Millennialists and anti-Semites have relished the document's suggestion that the Antichrist will be an Israelite:

At that time the Prince of Iniquity who will be called Antichrist will arise from the tribe of Dan.

The expected role of the Antichrist

Christian denominations disagree on what will happen in the end times, and the role that Satan and the Antichrist will play. Among those who believe that the Antichrists of whom John was writing are instead a single individual and expect this one to arise in the future, there is a general consensus that sometime prior to the expected return of Jesus, there will be a period of "trials and tribulations" during which the Antichrist, inspired by Satan, will attempt to win supporters with great works, and will silence anyone or make enemies of any country that refuses their allegiance (by refusing to "receive his mark" on their foreheads or right hands). This "mark" is expected to be required to legally partake in commerce, as noted in the book of Revelation. Some Christians believe that the Antichrist will be assassinated half way through the Tribulation, being revived and indwelt by Satan. The Antichrist will continue on for three and a half years following this.[1]

In this view, an event popularly termed the "White Throne Judgment" will take place, at which time both the living and the dead will be resurrected, some for everlasting life, and some for everlasting death. All those who worship God and Jesus will be admitted to the presence of God; but everyone who would not repent of the Antichrist will be sent to an outer darkness. Finally, the "Dragon" (often interpreted as Satan), the "Beast" (often interpreted as the Antichrist) and the "false prophet" (interpreted in many ways) who compels the world to worship the Beast (lie), and all who received his mark (cast their lot with him), will be thrown into a lake of fire together with death and Hades. These views are based on controversial passages in the Apocalypse of John, more commonly known as the Book of Revelation.

In other views, the role is far less dramatic - the Antichrist is simply believed to be a group of individuals as well as organizations, who, for their history of trying to deceive and stifle the faithful, are finally destroyed for all time by God on the day of Armageddon.

Characteristics of the Antichrist

Based on the interpretations of the specific passages from the books of Daniel and Revelation, the Antichrist is commonly expected to meet certain characteristics.

In Daniel chapter 7, a description of four beasts is narrated by an angel:

23. "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from the other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.

24. the ten horns are ten kings who shall rise from this kingdom. And another shall arise after them, he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.

25. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hands for a time and times and half a time."

(Daniel 7:23-25)

Daniel chapter 11 also details more information about exploits frequently assigned to the antichrist (verses 31-45).

The Bible also describes a beast-like creature, but over the years these characteristics have been interpreted as being metaphorical, or symbolic as the book itself indicates. For example, Daniel 8:3 tells about a ram-like beast, and then Daniel 8:20 explains that "the ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia". Also, Daniel 8:5 makes reference about a goat-like beast with a "notable horn", and Dan 8:21 says "the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king". One interpretation is that the beast or the Antichrist represents a kingdom, while the horns or heads represent some aspect of its political leadership. This seven heads, according to Revelation 17:10: "...are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space".

The beast is supposed to have "ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns upon its horns" (Revelation 13:1–2), which is sometimes interpreted to mean the Antichrist will lead 27 or 17 countries. They will follow in his battles that he will declare boldly and without humility, and for a purpose which is untrue. Likewise, the fact that the beast is described as being "worshipped" is taken as a sign that the Antichrist will be a popular figure among those who are deceived by him.

According to the book of Revelation, the Antichrist can be identified by the number of the beast.

Some believe that the Antichrist will be of Jewish descent, basing their claims on Daniel 11:37. This verse says "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all" [2], (this may also indicate that the Antichrist will be either celibate or a homosexual [3]). Additionally, some believe, because of John 5:43, that the Antichrist may be accepted as Israel's and modern Jews' Messiah, and even set himself in a possibly rebuilt Third Temple in Jerusalem.

Some common interpretations include that the Antichrist will be some sort of high-ranking political leader or diplomat, who will initially do very good, popular things, which will win him many followers. It is said that the Antichrist will then recreate the miracles of the first century alluding to the miracles rendered by Jesus Christ. These may include, but are not limited to, seemingly raising the dead, curing the blind, alleviating hunger, transmuting water to wine, and so forth.

In the end, however, the Antichrist is supposed to become increasingly totalitarian and politically powerful and elicit more and more sacrifices from his followers until eventually his evil ways become known, and the era of "trials and tribulations" begins.

Islam and Antichrist

In the Muslim traditions, quoting from Hadith (the sayings of Muhammad), the Antichrist is a "Dajjal" (liar or deceiver) who will come near the end times, and will command great powers (he is not directly mentioned in the Qur'an, only in the Hadith), and will be well known and feared in his time. (See also: Dajjal)

Other Muslims have identified the Antichrist as "Al Massih Al-Dajjal". Al-Massih refers to Messiah (Arabic المسيح;), and Dajjal refers to the fact of being False/Liar. This man will also come in the end times, commanding great powers and being popular in his heyday, but will cause havoc and spread terror around the world.

The Prophet, Allah's apostle, said "No prophet was sent but that he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Ad-Dajjal). Beware! He is blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so, and there will be written between his (Ad-Dajjal's) eyes (the word) Kafir (that is, disbeliever)" [Hadith - Bukhari 9.245, Narrated Anas] (this Hadith is also quoted by Abu Huraira and Ibn 'Abbas).

"... He (the Dajjal) will be a young man with twisted, cropped hair, and a blind eye. I compare him with AbdulUzza ibn Qatan. He who among you will survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Surah al-Kahf (xviii). He will appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and will spread mischief right and left. O servant of Allah! Adhere (to the path of Truth)... He will come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion); they will affirm their faith in him and respond to him. He will then give a command to the sky: there will be rainfall upon the Earth and it will grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing animals will come to them with their humps very high, their udders full of milk and their flanks distended. He will then come to another people and invite them. But they will reject him so he will go away from them; they will have a drought and nothing will be left with them in the form of wealth. He will then walk through the desert and say to it: Bring forth your treasures. The treasures will come out and gather before him like a swarm of bees. He will then call someone in the flush of youth, strike him with the sword, cut him into two pieces and make these pieces lie at the distance which is generally between the archer and his target. He will then call (that young man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness). It will at this very time that Allah will send Isa (The Christ/Jesus), son of Mary. He will descend at the white minaret on the eastern side of Damascus, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he lowers his head, there will fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he raises it up, beads like pearls will scatter from it. Every non-believer who smells the odour of his body will die and his breath will reach as far as he is able to see. He will then search for him (Dajjal) until he catches hold of him at the gate of Ludd and kills him. Then a people whom Allah had protected will come to Isa, son of Mary, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise..." [Hadith - Muslim #7015, Narrated An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an]

Identity of the Antichrist

According to the book of Revelation, a discerning person can identify the Antichrist by the number of the beast, specifically, 666 (or 616 in some minority texts). The Hebrew numerology called Gematria appears to be the most likely approach for calculating the numeric value of a name, although other numerology schemes are used in attempts to confirm the identity of the Antichrist.

Past identifications

Identifications during the 1st millennium

According to Bernard McGinn, in Christianity's early days the Antichrist was identified variously as spirit of heresy (by Polycarp), the Roman empire (by Irenaeus), or the resurrected Nero (by John Chrysostom).

Arnulf of Rheims wrote in A.D. 991, “Quid hunc, rev. Patres, in sublimi solio residentem veste purpurea et aurea radiantem, quid hunc, inqam, esse censetis? Nimirum si caritate destituitur, solaque inflatur et extollitur, Antichristus est, in templo Dei sedens, et se ostendens tamquam sit Deus.”

"What do you estimate this to be, reverend fathers? When you see him sitting on a lofty throne glittering in purple and gold, what do you estimate this to be, I say? Without a doubt, if he lacks love, and is only swelled up and lifted up, must he not be the Antichrist, 'sitting in the temple of God, and also showing himself as God'”? [4]

Identifications during the 2nd millennium

Similarly, another idea that began appearing early in the history of the Christian church is that the Antichrist will be an apostate priest or Christian secular ruler, perhaps a Pope or other high leader of the Christian church, or a pretender to the Papacy.

Some Christian groups have made it an issue of faith to identify the Bishop of Rome and the papal system as the Antichrist. See, for example, the Smalcald Articles, Westminster Confession and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith; early Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Knox, Cotton Mather, and John Wesley, identified the Roman Papacy as Antichrist [5]. Virtually all popes have been called the Antichrist by their enemies, and many popes have applied this title of "Antichrist", "son of perdition", or "man of sin", to their enemies as well.

In return, some Catholics expected a son of Martin Luther to be the Antichrist, as his scion would be the son of an ex-priest and ex-nun.

After the reforms of Patriarch Nikon to the Russian Orthodox Church of 1652 a large number of Old Believers held that tzar Peter the Great was the Antichrist [6], because of his treatment of the Orthodox Church, namely separating church from state, requiring clergyman to conform to the standards of all Russian civilians (shaved beards, being fluent in French), and requiring them to pay state taxes. In 1914 , a woman believing the faith healer Rasputin was the Antichrist, for his supposedly evil influences over the tzar and tzarina, stabbed him, cutting a large wound in his chest. He fully recovered.

Preterists look to an early antichrist. The Roman emperor beginning with Nero, sometimes together with the four emperors who succeeded him in the year following his suicide, until the elevation of Nero's general Vespasian to emperor, have been interpreted from very early times, either alone or collectively as the Beast of the Apocalypse. This is supported by some numerological interpretations.

In this tumultuous period, superstitious fear and mob violence grew against Christians, and the Roman wars against the Jews intensified (AD 66–70), ending with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 under the command of general Titus (later emperor), and the slaughter of the Jews who were living at Jerusalem. According to tradition, Nero ordered the crucifixion of St. Peter and the beheading of Saint Paul. Both Jewish and Christian literature survives, referring to Emperor Nero as the Antichrist. A more detailed description of this Preterist interpretation can be found in the entry on the Book of Revelation.

Paul of Tarsus has been theorized by some Muslims and others (notably English political radical Jeremy Bentham) to have fulfilled the role of the Antichrist within the chronicles of the New Testament of the Bible itself. This theory is premised on an idea that the original teachings of Christ were subverted by Paul, rather than elaborated upon or revealed to Paul by Christ.

Widespread Protestant identification of the Papacy as the Antichrist persisted until the early-1900s when the Scofield Reference Bible was published by Cyrus Scofield. Prior to the Scofield Bible, with few exceptions, the Protestant confessions of faith declared the Papacy as the Antichrist. Westminster Confession of Faith:

25.6. There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalts himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God.

The London Baptist Confession of 1689:

26.4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner; neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, csacss. This view was then codified by St. Bellarmine, who gives in full the Catholic theory set forth by the Greek and Latin Fathers, of a personal Antichrist to come just before the end of the world and to be accepted by the Jews and enthroned in the temple at Jerusalem—thus endeavoring to dispose of the Protestant exposition which saw Antichrist in the pope. Bellarmine's interpretation, in modified form, is now accepted by most premillennial dispensationalists.[7]

Contemporary identifications

Identifying the Antichrist has returned as a task in the Internet age, and has created a body of literature in its own right.

Since the Bible indicates that the antichrist beast may be identified by a number, "the number of the beast" which "is the number of a man" (Revelation 13:18), various numerological methods of calculating the number of the name of the Beast ("666" in most manuscript sources, "616" in a minority), and other methods are used to identify the Antichrist before he has the chance to lead astray. The oldest historical example is in Latin where each letter has an equivalent numerical value. Also "VV IL DVCE" (From "Viva Il Duce" or "Long Live Il Duce", a phrase chanted for Benito Mussolini).

In English, another example is the case of Adolf Hitler, where numbering the letters A=100, B=101, etc, produces H+I+T+L+E+R=666. That linear equation is the most reliable. There is a theory that one can put together all the numbers of last name and the last number of the first name, to get 666, however that theory can also be calculated only on last name with diophantine equation A=9, B=18, C=27, D=36... Another numerological candidate is Henry Kissinger. Letting A=6, B=12, C=18, etc, produces K+I+S+S+I+N+G+E+R=666. Many people can be proved to be the Antichrist using this method. In fact, getting someone's name to add up to 666 involves solving a very simple linear diophantine equation. Critics of numerology point out that any name can be made to add up to 666 or any other number using the technique of diophantine equation. The name of Jesus Christ himself can be made to add up to 666, and thereby linked to the antichrist, a result that exposes the meaninglessness of such techniques.

Candidates for the Antichrist have been men in virtually all positions of public influence. The choices made probably say more about the political prejudices of the people making them than anything else. Among the modern candidates are Prince William, his father Prince Charles, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, George W. Bush [8] Sam Walton^{[citation needed]}, Bill Gates, Adolf Hitler, Marilyn Manson, Kim II Sung, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia ^{[citation needed]}, Napoleon, Joseph Stalin, Nelson Mandela^{[citation needed]}, Eddie Maguire, various Popes or the Roman Catholic Church, various Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Cotton Mather, and Thomas Cranmer, the World Council of Churches, and recent Presidents of the United States. Since the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, theories about Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Condoleezza Rice^{[citation needed]}, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary Clinton^{[citation needed]}, Daniel Gaal or Dick Cheney being the Antichrist have been put forward. Ronald Wilson Reagan was thought to be the Antichrist by some because his first, middle, and last names each have six letters. Apocalyptic Christians such as Herb Peters and Constance E. Cumbey point to Javier Solana, and others believe that the Antichrist will arise from the European Union and seize presidential power of it ([9]). Others say the state of Israel will be the state of which the Antichrist will become the president-ruler. Again some have said the United Nations to be the medium of establishing the reign of Antichrist.

In 1798, General Louis Berthier marched against Rome and took Pope Pius VI captive. The pope died in 1799, making the world believe that the papacy was dead. The papacy grew and became the most influential political and religious power in the world. It has been claimed (in the book "Cracking the Apocalypse Code" by Gerard Bodson) that this line refers to the defeat of Germany in World War I and its recovery under the Nazis. Germany is named as one of the heads of the beast (the other heads representing the other members of the Axis Powers: Italy, Japan, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary). Claims about world leaders echo the plot of the Left Behind series of novels (by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins) that the Antichrist may be the Secretary-General of the United Nations. LaHaye and Thomas Ice publish a newsletter that speculates about these matters, and they have also suggested that the rise of militant Islam in the 21st Century is a possible sign of the End Times, as being the false religion of the Antichrist and his partner, the False Prophet.

Jerry Falwell told a pastors' conference in January 1999 in a sermon on the Second Coming that the Antichrist was probably alive on earth, and certainly a Jewish male. He subsequently clarified that "[t]his is simply historic and prophetic orthodox Christian doctrine" and had no anti-Semitic roots.

One of the more interesting Internet conspiracy theories about the Antichrist that has spawned as a result of renewed interest in the Magdalene-Christ debate, seemingly ties in both Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code while actually going a step further to put forth that the entire "Bloodline of Christ" theory is a well orchestrated and intentional hoax directed at the world yet having a single sinister goal to bring Bloodline believers into acceptance that one of these living "Bloodline descendants" will rise up to become a future Arthurian-like "Messianic figure" (not Christ, but the literal Antichrist), and that this Bloodline heresy is the very deception Secret Societies are using to promote this future Merovingian King onto the world stage.

German philosopher and son of Lutheran pastor, Friedrich Nietzsche, called himself the Antichrist. He even went as far as to write a book called The Antichrist. His later philosophy was based on the Dionysian aspects of individuals. In his famous first book, The Birth of Tragedy, he wrote this pasage: "As a philologist and man of words, I baptized it, taking some liberties (for who knew the correct name for the Antichrist?), after the name of a Greek god: I called it the Dionysian."

In addition certain occultists and Satanists have proclaimed themselves to be the Antichrist, including John Whiteside Parsons. The Antichrist is a popular archetype for villainous behavior.

Interpretations for contemporary figures (external links)

External links

Ezekiel 4 and the Coming Rapture: An Adaptation of the Work of Arthur E. Bloomfield by Hermano Cisco of babylonfalls.org, regarding the expected role of Antichrist.