Who Is The Antichrist?
The view of many people is the Antichrist is a future world leader who will set himself up in the future rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and claim to be God.
This claim is preceded by a seven year peace treaty (3 1/2 years of peace and 3 1/2 years of tribulation) that will allow Israel to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
The temple was destroyed in AD 70 when Jerusalem was left desolate by the Roman armies in accordance with what Jesus stated in Matthew 23-24 and Luke 19:41-44, Luke 21, and Luke 23:27-31.
Following the rebuilding of the temple and 3 1/2 years into the peace treaty, the Antichrist boldly announces he is God which begins 3 1/2 years of tribulation upon Israel and the world.
Those who refuse to worship the Antichrist as God by refusing to receive the mark of the beast will be killed.
So who is the Antichrist?
This may surprise you…
…the Bible has no verses about a future Antichrist who will set himself up in a future rebuilt temple in Jerusalem unleashing 3 1/2 years of tribulation on Israel and the world.
In its historical, biblical context, antichrist simply means against Jesus as the Christ.
The Hebrew Bible foretold the coming of a Christ (the anointed one of God sent to Israel to be the world’s Savior-King).
Those who denied Jesus as the Christ were called antichrists.
There were many antichrists in the first century, starting with the leaders of Israel who appealed to Rome for the crucifixion of Jesus.
Following the ascension of Jesus, these antichrists were numerous.
John wrote about them in 1 John 2:18-22; 4:3; 2 John 4:7.
So where does the belief originate that the Antichrist is coming into the world?
It comes from a misinterpretation and teaching of the verses where John wrote about antichrist and antichrists and a misinterpretation and teaching of Daniel 9:25-27.
Let’s examine these verses, beginning with 1 John 1:18-22.
1 John 1:18-22
Dear children, this is the last hour [the last hour was at the time John wrote 1 John concerning the soon to come destruction of Jerusalem and the temple]; and as you have heard that the [the is not in the Greek manuscripts] antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour [before Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed]. 19They [the antichrists] went out from us [the community of believers John wrote to who believed Jesus was the Christ], but they [the antichrists; those against Jesus as the Christ] 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 [because they rejected Jesus as the Christ; they were antichrists].
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth [that Jesus is the Christ of the Hebrew Bible]. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth [that Jesus is the Christ], but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? [about the identity of Jesus as the Christ]. It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
The antichrists John writes about are Jewish people in the first century who claimed to know God the Father yet rejected Jesus as the Christ.
They were much like the Pharisees, teachers of the law, and priests and chief priests who, as antichrists, rejected Jesus as the Christ of the Hebrew Bible (read the Book of John for more about this as well as my book Forgiven and Cleansed: 1 John 1:9 In Context).
Though they claimed to know God the Father, Jesus told them they did not know God because they rejected Jesus as the Christ.
These antichrists were plentiful leading up to the destruction of the temple and desolation of Jerusalem in AD 70 (this is what John referred to as the last hour).
Let’s now examine Daniel 9:25-27
(New King James Version).
The angel Gabriel is sent to give Daniel the answer to his prayer concerning the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
Gabriel tells Daniel:
“Seventy weeks [490 years] are determined For your people [Israel] and for our holy city [Jerusalem], To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy [AD 27; anoint publicly to Israel Jesus as the Christ].”
“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command [457 BC] To restore and build Jerusalem [Jerusalem had been destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians] Until Messiah the Prince [Jesus], There shall be seven weeks [49 years] and sixty-two weeks [434 years]; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.”
“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off [AD 30 ½], but not for Himself [it will not be his guilt that caused his death]; And the people [Israel] of the prince [ruler] who is to come [Jesus is the ruler to come; Micah 5:2] Shall destroy [the Hebrew word is corrupt] the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [temple]. The end [of the city of Jerusalem, the temple, the priesthood, the old covenant of law, and the people of Israel] of it shall be with a flood [suddenly and forcefully], And till the end of the war [the Roman-Jewish War – AD 66-70 when Jerusalem was destroyed] desolations are determined.”
Daniel 9:27 provides commentary on verses 9:24-26 (NKJV).
“Then [then is not in the Hebrew Manuscript] he [Jesus] shall confirm a covenant [new testament of grace; see Matthew 26:28 in the NLT] with many [many is the entire human race minus Jesus – see Romans 5:12, 15, and Matthew 26:28 in the NKJV] for [for is not in the Hebrew manuscripts; this is a reference of what the Messiah would do during the final seven years of the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem] one week; But in the middle of the week [the final 3 1/2 years for the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem] He [Jesus] shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering [the death of Jesus as the final sin offering and sacrifice that is explained by the writer of Hebrews]. And on the wing [at the end] of abominations [committed by the people of Israel in corrupting Jerusalem and the temple] shall be one who makes desolate [the son of perdition; the lawless one - see links at the end of this blog], Even until the consummation [the end of Jerusalem and the people of Israel], which is determined [the 490 years determined, marked about by God for the people of Israel and city of Jerusalem in answer to Daniel’s prayer], Is poured out on the desolate [Jerusalem is destroyed in AD 70 and the temple is left desolate just as Jesus said in Matthew 23:37-38].”
I examine this prophecy more fully in my book 490 Years Determined For The People of Israel and The City of Jerusalem. This book is available on Amazon. CLICK HERE
Let’s return to the title of this blog: Who Is The Antichrist?
Based on the verses we have examined, the Bible makes no claim of an Antichrist setting himself up in a future rebuilt temple as God.
Some may ask about:
- the abomination that causes desolation and the man of lawlessness (son of perdition) who sets himself up in the temple claiming to be God: CLICK HERE
- the great tribulation: CLICK HERE
- the mark of the beast: CLICK HERE
If you found this article helpful, you may enjoy Brad’s books on Revelation, Daniel 2, and Daniel 9: CLICK HERE
