The ministry of Jesus was one that we all know was foretold in the Old Testament. Looking back at the verses in those texts that suggest the coming of a Messiah, it is easy for us, now, to simply compare the striking similarities between what was said of Jesus in those prophecies and what we know He did after the fact. But, imagine if you were one of the prophets, or simply laypersons, who were mystified by these passages. They may have had a general idea of a messiah that was coming to ‘save’ His people, but I suppose that their ideas were hazy and clouded by the ambiguous nature of the future. And, I feel that this is how we view the concept often referred to in the Bible as the Anti-Christ, since this is dealt with from the perspective of before his appearance, just as the Old Testament dealt with Christ. What is he? Who is he? Has he come already, and if not in what manner will his coming occur?

In the Bible, the word Anti-Christ is used in more than one way. For instance, in 1 John 2:18-19 it says, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you were given word that the Antichrist would come, so now a number of Antichrists have come to you; and by this we are certain that it is the last hour. Who is false but he who says that Jesus is not the Christ? He is the Antichrist who has no belief in the Father or the Son.� Here the word is used not simply to refer to a specific person, but to reference a sort of spirit or attitude that many who oppose Christ will exhibit. So, Anti-Christ can be broadly applied to any persons whose motivations are not only evil, but are of the type of evil that is an attempt to overthrow God’s established order through Christ.

In many ways, this mirrors the Old Testament characters and the body of Christ today. Although we are not Christ, we are, if you will, a reflection of His righteousness, as well as Old Testament’s ‘faith-figures.’ Jesus’ appearance on this earth was the fulfillment of what Old Testament prophets hoped for and what we look back to as our foundation. The same can be said of the anti-Christ. Those who have a strong interest in destroying and disrupting the works of Christ are, in one way or another, a reflection of the one final opposition to God’s anointed One.

But, is there a culmination of hatred towards Christ that will finally lead to the one, if you will, great rebel we call the Anti-Christ? Well, the Bible tells us there will be. For in that very passage I quoted above, it says “… that the Antichrist would come…� As well, in 2 Thessalonians2:7-9 it says, “…but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way. And then will come the revelation of that evil one, whom the Lord Jesus will put to death with the breath of his mouth, and give to destruction by the revelation of his coming; Even the one whose coming is marked by the working of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders…� So, there is coming one, through whom, many false signs and wonders will try to tear down the works of our Lord.

And in 2:4, just a couple of passages earlier, we learn that he will be the one, “Who puts himself against all authority, lifting himself up over all which is named God or is given worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, putting himself forward as God.� He will exalt himself above God, trying to imitate the life of Jesus in such a way as to ‘take the place of’ Jesus’ ministry on this earth. The Anti-Christ will be the “Christ� of Satan, though Jesus’ polar opposite in word and deed.

But before you are seized by worry and fear, just remember this. God only will allow the Anti-Christ’s reign of terror to flourish for a season and with safeguards. As it is written in Thessalonians 2:13, “But it is right for us to give praise to God at all times for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because it was the purpose of God from the first that you might have salvation, being made holy by the Spirit and by faith in what is true:� God’s purpose in allowing all of this is for the salvation of many, so that, God will not allow this miscreant to destroy completely. Like in the book of Job, God will use this for a greater good, not merely give the earth over to him without a promise of ‘drying up the waters’ of that flood.

In the end, this evil one will ultimately be stripped of authority, overthrown and punished eternally, as the Bible explains in Revelation 19:20. His demise is certain. As to when all this will happen, there are signs of the seasons that Jesus spoke of in the gospels. Although, there are some that would go so far as to say that the events in Revelation concerning the Anti-Christ have already come, making the Anti-Christ some Roman ruler such as Nero or some such figure. Whether or not this is the case, I can not say. But, the majority of scholars feel that this is not the case, and what was spoken of this vile leader is still to come. However, regardless of the circumstances, God will use the ashes of war and pestilence that the Anti-Christ will bring about to line the garden of His glory and grow the roses of His kingdom.

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