The
Antichrist is a
Christian concept based on interpretation of passages in the
New Testament, in which the term "antichrist" occurs five times in
1 John and
2 John, once in
plural form
[1] and four times in the
singular.
[2]
In traditional Christian belief,
Jesus the
Messiah will appear in his
Second Coming to Earth to face the emergence of the Antichrist figure, who will be the greatest
false messiah in Christianity. Just as
Christ is the savior and the ideal model for humanity, his opponent in the
end time will be a single figure of concentrated evil, according to
Bernard McGinn.
In
Islam,
Masih ad-Dajjal (the
False messiah in Islam)
is an evil figure (similar to the Christian concept of Antichrist), who
will appear to deceive humanity before the second coming of
Jesus,
[4] who is called "
Isa" by Arabic-speaking
Muslims.
Etymology
The word "antichrist" is made up of two
roots:
αντί (
anti) +
Χριστός (
Khristos). "Αντί" can mean not only "against" and "opposite of", but also "in place of",
[5] "Χριστός", translated "Christ", is Greek for the Hebrew "Messiah". Both literally mean "
Anointed One", and refer to Jesus of
Nazareth[6] within Christian,
Islamic and
Messianic Jewish theology.
Christian views
New Testament
Whether the New Testament contains an individual Antichrist or not is
disputed. The five uses of the term "antichrist" or "antichrists" in
the
Epistles of John
do not clearly present a single latter-day individual Antichrist. The
articles "the deceiver" or "the antichrist" are usually seen as marking
out a certain category of persons, rather than an individual.
[7]
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.
Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the
deceiver and the antichrist!
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.
—1 John 2:22 NRSV (1989)
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 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 it is
already in the world.
—1 John 4:2–3 NRSV (1989)
Consequently attention for an individual Antichrist figure focuses on the second chapter of
2 Thessalonians.
[8][9] However, the term "antichrist" is never used in this passage:
As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered
together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly
shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as
though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.
Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the
rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined
for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called
god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of
God, declaring himself to be God.
—2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 NRSV (1989)
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the
one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be
revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth,
annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the
lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power,
signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who
are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
—2 Thessalonians 2:7–10 NRSV (1989)
Although the word "antichrist" (Greek
antikhristos) is used only in the Epistles of John, the similar word "pseudochrist" (Greek
pseudokhristos, meaning "false messiah") is used by Jesus in the gospels:
[10]
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great
signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
—Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22 NRSV (1989)
The
Beast from the earth, according to the
Book of Revelation and also referred to as the
False Prophet, has often been equated with an individual Antichrist:
Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns
like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority
of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its
inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to
earth in the sight of all; and by the signs that it is allowed to
perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth,
telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the
sword and yet lived; and it was allowed to give breath to the image of
the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause
those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Also it
causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and
slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one
can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the
beast or the number of its name.
—Revelation 13:11–17 NRSV (1989)
And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the
dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false
prophet. These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to
the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great
day of God the Almighty.
—Revelation 16:13–14 NRSV (1989)
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies
gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his
army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had
performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had
received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These
two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
—Revelation 19:19–20 NRSV (1989)
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire
and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.
—Revelation 20:10 NRSV (1989)
Medieval commentators, however, more readily identified the figure of the
Beast from the sea as an individual Antichrist.
[citation needed]
Early Church
The only one of the late 1st/early 2nd Century
Apostolic Fathers to use the term is
Polycarp (ca. 69 – ca. 155) who warned the Philippians that everyone who preached false doctrine was an antichrist.
[11]
His use of the term Antichrist follows that of the New Testament in not
identifying a single personal Antichrist, but a class of people.
[12]
Irenaeus (2nd century AD – c. 202) wrote
Against Heresies to refute the teachings of the
Gnostics. In Book V of
Against Heresies he addresses the figure of the Antichrist referring to him as the "recapitulation of
apostasy and rebellion." He uses "
666", the
Number of the Beast from Revelation 13:18, to
numerologically
decode several possible names. Some names that he loosely proposed were
"Evanthos", "Lateinos" ("Latin" or pertaining to the Roman Empire). In
his
exegesis of
Daniel
7:21, he stated that the ten horns of the beast will be the Roman
empire divided into ten kingdoms before the Antichrist's arrival.
However, his readings of the Antichrist were more in broader theological
terms rather than within a historical context.
[13]
The
Ascension of Isaiah presents a detailed exposition of the Antichrist as
Belial and
Nero.
[14]
Tertullian (ca.160 – ca.220 AD) held that the
Roman Empire
was the restraining force written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians
2:7-8. The fall of Rome and the disintegration of the ten provinces of
the Roman Empire into ten kingdoms were to make way for the Antichrist.
By, "For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first," he
[Paul] means indeed this present empire, "and the man of lawlessness is
revealed"—that is to say, the Antichrist, "the son of destruction, who
opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or religion, so
that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be
God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still
with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be
revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already
at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed." What
obstacles are there but the Roman state, the rebellion of which, by
being scattered into the ten kingdoms, will introduce the Antichrist
upon its own ruins? "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the
Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the
manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent
in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and
every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing."[15]
Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170-c. 236) held that the Antichrist would come from the
tribe of Dan and would
rebuild the Jewish temple on the
Temple Mount in order to reign from it. He identified the Antichrist with the Beast out of the Earth from the book of Revelation.
By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom
of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet
after him. And in speaking of "horns like a lamb," he means that he will
make himself like the Son of God, and set himself forward as king. And
the terms, "it spoke like a dragon," mean that he is a deceiver, and not
truthful.[16]
Origen (185–254) refuted
Celsus's view of the Antichrist. Origen utilized Scriptural citations from Daniel, Paul, and the Gospels. He argued:
Where is the absurdity, then, in holding that there exist among men,
so to speak, two extremes—the one of virtue, and the other of its
opposite; so that the perfection of virtue dwells in the man who
realizes the ideal given in Jesus, from whom there flowed to the human
race so great a conversion, and healing, and amelioration,
while the opposite extreme is in the man who embodies the notion of him
that is named Antichrist?... one of these extremes, and the best of the
two, should be styled the Son of God, on account of His pre-eminence;
and the other, who is diametrically opposite, be termed the son of the
wicked demon, and of Satan, and of the devil. And, in the next place,
since evil is specially characterized by its diffusion, and attains its
greatest height when it simulates the appearance of the good, for that
reason are signs, and marvels, and lying miracles found to accompany
evil, through the cooperation of its father the devil.[17]
Post-Nicene Christianity
Cyril of Jerusalem, in the mid-4th century, delivered his
15th Catechetical Lecture
about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in which he also lectures
about the Antichrist, who will reign as the ruler of the world for three
and a half years, before he is killed by Jesus Christ right at the end
of his three-and-a-half-year reign, shortly after which the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ will happen.
Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 298 – 373), writes that
Arius
of Alexandria is to be associated with the Antichrist, saying, "And
ever since [the Council of Nicaea] has Arius's error been reckoned for a
heresy more than ordinary, being known as Christ's foe, and harbinger
of Antichrist."
[18]
John Chrysostom
(c. 347–407) warned against speculations and old wives' tales about the
Antichrist, saying, "Let us not therefore enquire into these things".
He preached that by knowing Paul's description of the Antichrist in 2
Thessalonians Christians would avoid deception.
[19]
Jerome
(c. 347-420) warned that those substituting false interpretations for
the actual meaning of Scripture belonged to the "synagogue of the
Antichrist".
[20] "He that is not of Christ is of Antichrist," he wrote to
Pope Damasus I.
[21]
He believed that "the mystery of lawlessness" written about by Paul in 2
Thessalonians 2:7 was already in action when "every one chatters about
his views."
[22]
To Jerome, the power restraining this mystery of lawlessness was the
Roman Empire, but as it fell this restraining force was removed. He
warned a noble woman of
Gaul:
He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize
that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus
Christ "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth." "Woe unto them," he
cries, "that are with child, and to them that give suck in those
days."... Savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun run all parts
of Gaul. The whole country between the Alps and the Pyrenees, between
the Rhine and the Ocean, has been laid waste by hordes of Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Alans, Gepids, Herules, Saxons, Burgundians, Allemanni, and—alas for the commonweal!—even Pannonians.[23]
In his Commentary on Daniel, Jerome noted, "Let us not follow the
opinion of some commentators and suppose him to be either the Devil or
some demon, but rather, one of the human race, in whom Satan will wholly
take up his residence in bodily form."
Instead of rebuilding the Jewish Temple to reign from, Jerome thought
the Antichrist sat in God’s Temple inasmuch as he made "himself out to
be like God." He refuted
Porphyry’s idea that the "little horn" mentioned in Daniel chapter 7 was
Antiochus Epiphanes by noting that the "little horn" is defeated by an eternal, universal ruler, right before the final judgment. Instead, he advocated that the "little horn" was the Antichrist:
We should therefore concur with the traditional interpretation of all
the commentators of the Christian Church, that at the end of the world,
when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall be ten kings who
will partition the Roman world amongst themselves. Then an insignificant
eleventh king will arise, who will overcome three of the ten kings...
after they have been slain, the seven other kings also will bow their
necks to the victor.
Circa 380, an apocalyptic pseudo-prophecy
falsely attributed to the
Tiburtine Sibyl describes Constantine as victorious over
Gog and Magog. Later on, it predicts:
When the Roman empire shall have ceased, then the Antichrist will be
openly revealed and will sit in the House of the Lord in Jerusalem.
While he is reigning, two very famous men, Elijah and Enoch, will go
forth to announce the coming of the Lord. Antichrist will kill them and
after three days they will be raised up by the Lord. Then there will be a
great persecution, such as has not been before nor shall be thereafter.
The Lord will shorten those days for the sake of the elect, and the
Antichrist will be slain by the power of God through Michael the
Archangel on the Mount of Olives.[25]
Augustine of Hippo
(354 – 430) wrote "it is uncertain in what temple [the Antichrist]
shall sit, whether in that ruin of the temple which was built by
Solomon, or in the Church."
[26]
Pope Gregory I wrote to
Emperor Maurice
in A.D. 597, concerning the titles of bishops, "I say with confidence
that whoever calls or desires to call himself ‘universal priest’ in
self-exaltation of himself is a precursor of the Antichrist."
[27]
Western Church pre-Reformation
Woodcut showing the Antichrist, 1498
Archbishop Arnulf of Rheims disagreed with the policies and morals of
Pope John XV. He expressed his views while presiding over the
Council of Reims
in A.D. 991. Arnulf accused John XV of being the Antichrist while also
using the 2 Thessalonians passage about the "man of lawlessness" (or
"lawless one"), saying, "Surely, if he is empty of charity and filled
with vain knowledge and lifted up, he is Antichrist sitting in God's
temple and showing himself as God." This incident is history's earliest
record of anyone identifying a pope with the Antichrist (See
Antichrist (historicism)).
[28]
Pope Gregory VII
(c. 1015 or 29 – 1085), struggled against, in his own words, "a robber
of temples, a perjurer against the Holy Roman Church, notorious
throughout the whole Roman world for the basest of crimes, namely,
Wilbert, plunderer of the holy church of
Ravenna, Antichrist, and arch-
heretic."
[29]
Cardinal Benno, on the opposite side of the
Investiture Controversy,
wrote long descriptions of abuses committed by Gregory VII, including
necromancy, torture of a former friend upon a bed of nails,
commissioning an attempted assassination, executions without trials,
unjust excommunication, doubting the Real Presence in the
Eucharist, and even burning it.
[30] Benno held that Gregory VII was "either a member of Antichrist, or Antichrist himself."
[31]
Eberhard II von Truchsees,
Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1241 at the Council of
Regensburg denounced
Pope Gregory IX as "that man of perdition, whom they call Antichrist, who in his extravagant boasting says, I am God, I cannot err."
[32] He argued that the ten kingdoms that the Antichrist is involved with
[33]
were the "Turks, Greeks, Egyptians, Africans, Spaniards, French,
English, Germans, Sicilians, and Italians who now occupy the provinces
of Rome."
[34] He held that the papacy was the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8:
[35]
"A little horn has grown up" with "eyes and mouth speaking great
things", which is reducing three of these kingdoms (i.e. Sicily, Italy,
and Germany) to subserviency, is persecuting the people of Christ and
the saints of God with intolerable opposition, is confounding things
human and divine, and is attempting things unutterable, execrable.[34]
Protestants
Many
Protestant reformers, including
Martin Luther,
John Calvin,
Thomas Cranmer,
John Thomas,
John Knox, and
Cotton Mather, identified the Roman
Papacy as the Antichrist.
[36] The
Centuriators of Magdeburg, a group of
Lutheran scholars in
Magdeburg headed by
Matthias Flacius, wrote the 12-volume "
Magdeburg Centuries" to discredit the papacy and identify the pope as the Antichrist. The fifth round of talks in the
Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue notes,
In calling the pope the "antichrist," the early Lutherans stood in a
tradition that reached back into the eleventh century. Not only
dissidents and heretics but even saints had called the bishop of Rome
the "antichrist" when they wished to castigate his abuse of power.[37]
William Tyndale,
an English Protestant reformer, held that while the Roman Catholic
realms of that age were the empire of Antichrist, any religious
organization that distorted the doctrine of the Old and New Testaments
also showed the work of Antichrist. In his treatise
The Parable of the Wicked Mammon,
he expressly rejected the established Church teaching that looked to
the future for an Antichrist to rise up, and he taught that Antichrist
is a present spiritual force that will be with us until the end of the
age under different religious disguises from time to time.
[38]
Tyndale's translation of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, concerning the
"man of lawlessness" reflected his understanding, but was significantly
amended by later revisers,
[39] including the
King James Bible committee, which followed the
Vulgate more closely.
There are Protestants today who still feel that the Pope is the antichrist.
[40] Ian Paisley notoriously called
Pope John Paul II the Antichrist
[41]
Counter-Reformation
The view of
Futurism, a product of the
Counter-Reformation, was advanced beginning in the 16th century in response to the identification of the Papacy as Antichrist.
Francisco Ribera, a
Jesuit priest, developed this theory in
In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij, his 1585 treatise on the
Apocalypse of John. Saint
Robert Bellarmine
codified this view, giving 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 exposition which saw Antichrist in the pope. Most premillennial
dispensationalists now accept Bellarmine's interpretation in modified form.
[citation needed] Widespread Protestant identification of the Papacy as the Antichrist persisted in the USA until the early 1900s when the
Scofield Reference Bible was published by
Cyrus Scofield. This commentary promoted Futurism, causing a decline in the Protestant identification of the Papacy as Antichrist.
Some US Futurists hold that sometime prior to the expected return of Jesus, there will be a period of "great tribulation"
[42]
during which the Antichrist, indwelt and controlled by Satan, will
attempt to win supporters with false peace, supernatural signs. He will
silence all that defy him by refusing to "receive his mark" on their
right hands or forehead. This "mark" will be required to legally partake
in the end-time economic system.
[43]
Some Futurists 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
"deadly wound".
[44]
Old Believers
After the reforms of
Patriarch Nikon to the
Russian Orthodox Church of 1652, a large number of
Old Believers held that czar
Peter the Great was the Antichrist
[45]
because of his treatment of the Orthodox Church, namely subordinating
the church to the state, requiring clergymen to conform to the standards
of all Russian civilians (shaved beards, being fluent in French), and
requiring them to pay state taxes.
Age of Enlightenment
Bernard McGinn noted that complete denial of the Antichrist was rare until the
Age of Enlightenment.
Following frequent use of "Antichrist" laden rhetoric during religious
controversies in the 17th century, the use of the concept declined in
the 18th century. Subsequent eighteenth-century efforts to cleanse
Christianity of "legendary" or "folk" accretions effectively removed the
Antichrist from discussion in mainstream Western churches.
Mormonism
In
Mormonism, the
Antichrist
"is anyone or anything that counterfeits the true gospel or plan of
salvation and that openly or secretly is set up in opposition to Christ.
The great antichrist is
Lucifer, but he has many assistants
[46] both as spirit beings and as mortals."
[47] Latter-day Saints use the New Testament scriptures, 1 John 2:18, 22; 1 John 4:3-6; 2 John 1:7 and the
Book of Mormon,
Jacob 7:1-23,
Alma 1:2-16, Alma 30:6-60, in their exegesis or interpretation of the Antichrist.
Other Christian interpretations
As "Man of Lawlessness"
The Antichrist has been equated with the "man of lawlessness" or
"lawless one" of 2 Thessalonians 2, though commentaries on the identity
of the "man of lawlessness" greatly vary.
[48] The "man of lawlessness" has been identified with
Caligula,
[49] Nero,
[50]
and the end times Antichrist. Some scholars believe that the passage
contains no genuine prediction, but represents a speculation of the
apostle's own, based on
Dan 8:23ff;
11:36ff, and on contemporary ideas of the Antichrist.
[49][51]
As "being in league with other figures"
Several American
evangelical and
fundamentalist
theologians, including Cyrus Scofield, have identified the Antichrist
as being in league with (or the same as) several figures in the Book of
Revelation including the Dragon (or
Serpent), the Beast, the False Prophet, and the
Whore of Babylon.
[52] Others, for example,
Rob Bell,
reject the identification of the Antichrist with any one person or
group. They believe a loving Christ would not view anyone as an enemy.
[53]
As Satan
Bernard McGinn described multiple traditions detailing the relationship between the Antichrist and
Satan. In the dualist approach, Satan will become incarnate in the Antichrist, just as
God became incarnate in Jesus. However, in
Orthodox Christian
thought, this view was problematic because it was too similar to
Christ's incarnation. Instead, the "indwelling" view became more
accepted. It stipulates that the Antichrist is a human figure inhabited
by Satan, since the latter’s power is not to be seen as equivalent to
God’s.
Non-Christian views
Judaism
There are warnings against
false prophets in the Hebrew Bible, but no personal anti-Messiah figure.
[54]
Jewish antecedents
The term
antikhristos originates in 1 John.
[55] The similar term
pseudokhristos ("False Messiah") is also first found in the New Testament, and, for example, never used by
Josephus in his accounts of various false messiahs.
[10] The concept of an
antikhristos
is not found in Jewish writings in the period 500 BC–50 AD. However,
Bernard McGinn conjectures that the concept may have been generated by
the frustration of Jews subject to often-capricious
Seleucid or
Roman rule, who found the nebulous Jewish idea of a Satan who is more of an opposing angel of God in the
heavenly court insufficiently humanised and personalised to be a satisfactory incarnation of evil and threat.
Medieval Judaism
Influenced by Christian and Muslim interpretation, an anti-Messiah type figure known as
Armilus appears in some schools of
Jewish eschatology, such as the 7th century CE
Sefer Zerubbabel and 11th century CE
Midrash Vayosha. He is described as bald, partially maimed, and partially deaf.
[56]
Islam
Masih ad-Dajjal (
Arabic:
الدّجّال, literally "The Deceiving Messiah"), is an evil figure in
Islamic eschatology.
Although not mentioned anywhere in the Quran, some Muslims believe he
is to appear pretending to be God at a time in the future, before "Yawm
al-Qiyamah" (The Day of Resurrection, Judgement Day). He will travel
around the globe entering every city except
Mecca and
Medina
obliging people to believe in him as a God. Then Isa (Jesus) will
descend from the sky to the White Minaret east of Damascus (as referred
to in
hadith),
placing his hands on the backs of two angels, at the time of Fajr
(dawn). This will happen at the time of the Dajjal and Isa (Jesus) will
be the one to eventually defeat the Dajjal, killing him with his spear.
[57][58]
Ahmadiyya
The
Ahmadiyya teachings interpret the prophecies regarding the appearance of the
Dajjal
(Anti-Christ) and Gog and Magog in Islamic eschatology as foretelling
the emergence of two branches or aspects of the same turmoil and trial
that was to be faced by Islam in the latter days and that both emerged
from Christianity or Christian nations. Its Dajjal aspect relates to
deception and perversion of religious belief while its aspect to do with
disturbance in the realm of politics and the shattering of world peace
has been called Gog and Magog. Thus Ahmadis consider the widespread
Christian missionary activity that was aggressively active in the 18th
and 19th centuries as being part of the prophesied Dajjal (Antichrist)
and Gog and Magog emerging in modern times. The emergence of the
Soviet Union and the
USA as
superpowers and the conflict between the two nations (i.e., the rivalry between
communism and
capitalism) are seen as having occurred in accordance with certain prophecies regarding Gog and Magog.
[59]
Ahmadis believe that prophecies and sayings about the Antichrist are
not to be interpreted literally and hold deeper meanings. Masih
ad-Dajjal is then a name to given to latter day
Christianity and
the West.
[60]
Use in popular culture
The term "Antichrist" is widely used in popular culture, and most prominently in
punk subculture. This trend was spurred by the
Sex Pistols' song "
Anarchy in the UK", in which lead singer
Johnny Rotten
proclaimed that he was an antichrist. After the release of the song,
adherents of the punk culture began to use the word as a term to
describe someone who is very vulgar, crude, or rebellious. However,
after Johnny Rotten's denunciation of useless violence in his years with
Public Image Ltd,
this trend began to subside with those who had used it for the sheer
sake of being "punk". It is now used in the fringe groups of
anarcho-punks and is most commonly used to describe those who practice
violent and sensational forms of anarchy. The term Antichrist also
features heavily in the earlier work of
Marilyn Manson with the 1996 album titled
Antichrist Superstar being most famous.
See also
References
- "KJV Search Results for Antichrists"". The Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- "KJV Search Results for Antichrist"". The Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/masdaj.html
- See Strong's Bible Dictionary: αντί and the Lexicon to Pindar. Related terms as noted by the Catholic Encyclopedia include: antibasileus-a king who fills an interregnum; antistrategos-a propraetor; anthoupatos-a proconsul; antitheos-in Homer,one resembling a god in power and beauty, in other works it stands for a hostile god
- See Strong's Bible Dictionary: χριστος
- Robert Yarbrough 1-3 John
Page 344 2008 "The articles in front of “deceiver” (ὁ πλάνος, ho
planos) and “antichrist” (ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ho antikhristos) should be seen
as marking out a certain category of persons (Wallace 1996: 227–30).
This is a common Johannine usage (1 John 2:23; "
- Jeffrey Alan David Weima, Stanley E. Porter
Annotated Bibliography of 1 & 2 Thessalonians - Page 263 1998 "(2)
Does the New Testament support the notion of an individual Antichrist in
whom all the anti-Christian strife of all ages will be concentrated? 2
Thess 2 answers the second question in the affirmative: an individual
Antichrist will bring evil to its ..."
- Anthony A. Hoekema The Bible and the Future - Page 159 - 1979 "Whereas Berkouwer
states, "There is no reason to posit with certainty on the basis of the
New Testament that the antichrist ... 2. particularly his statements
about the "restrainer," compel us to believe that there will be a
future, individual antichrist."
- The
Gospel of Peace: A Scriptural Message for Today's World - Page 70 Ulrich
Mauser - 1992 "From Josephus's writings we collect, first of all,
without much critical comment, some statements showing the close
affinity of the … nowhere in his extensive accounts of the Jewish–Roman
war uses the word "pseudo-Christ" (pseudochristos)."
- Polycap's Letter to the Philippians, paragraph 7
- The Early Christians
In Ephesus From Paul To Ignatius - Page 268 Paul Trebilco - 2004
"Finally, Hartog notes that the Johannine Letters are the only NT
writings to use the term "antichrist" (1 Jn 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn 7) and
Polycarp is also the only Apostolic Father to use the term. He notes
"Thus, the tests of 'density' and 'singularity' ..."
- Hughes, Kevin L. (2005). Constructing antichrist : Paul, biblical commentary, and the development of doctrine in the early Middle Ages. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Univ. of America Press. pp. 29–31. ISBN 9780813214153.
- The International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D - Page 140 Geoffrey W. Bromiley - 1979
"The fullest exposition of the ideas associated with the antichrist in
the early decades of Christian history is to be found in the Ascension
of Isaiah. In this we are told that "Beliar" (Belial) would enter into
"the matricide king" (Nero), who would work great wonders and do much
evil."
- "On the Resurrection, chp 24". Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- Hippolytus's Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, part 2
- Origen 1872, p. 386
- from Athanasius' "Four Discourses"
- Chrysostom Homily 1 on the 2nd Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians
- Jerome 1893b, p. 334
- Jerome 1893, p. 19
- Jerome 1893c, p. 449
- Jerome 1893d, pp. 236–7
- "Latin Tiburtine Sibyl". Http-server.carleton.ca. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- City of God, Book 20 chapter 19, cited in Brug's A Scriptural and Historical Survey of the Doctrine of the Antichrist
- quote from McGinn,
Bernard, Visions of the End. Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages,
New York: Columbia University, 1979. p. 64,.found in Brug's A Scriptural and Historical Survey of the Doctrine of the Antichrist
- Bernard McGinn,
Antichrist: two thousand years of the human fascination with evil, New
York: Columbia University Press, 2000 p. 100. and Schaff & Schley Schaff 1885, p. 291
- See The Correspondence of Pope Gregory VII trans. Emerton, Ephraim. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990., p. 162.
- From long quotations in Foxe 1583, p. 121
- quoted by David M. Whitford, The Papal Antichrist: Martin Luther and the Underappreciated Influence of Lorenzo Valla, Renaissance Quarterly, 61:26–52, Spring 2008
- The Methodist Review Vol. XLIII, No. 3, p. 305.
- See Daniel 7:23-25, Revelation 13:1-2, and Revelation 17:3-18
- Article on "Antichrist" from Smith and Fuller, A Dictionary of the Bible, 1893, p. 147
- Daniel 7:8
- The AntiChrist and The Protestant Reformation
- See Building Unity, edited by Burgess and Gross
- Tyndale, William, Parable of the Wicked Mammon, c. 1526, (facsimile copy of later printing, no ISBN number, Benediction Classics, 2008)at pages 4-5
- "Tyndale's Doctrine
of Antichrist and His Translation of 2 Thessalonians 2", R. Davis, New
Matthew Bible Project. (A shorter version of this article was also
published in the Tyndale Society Journal No. 36, Spring 2009, under the
title Tyndale, the Church, and the Doctrine of Antichrist)
- http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/isaiah-14-21.html
- http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/16/weekinreview/headliners-papal-audience.html
- "Matthew 24:21 (King James Version)". BibleGateway.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- "Revelation 13:16-17 (King James Version)". BibleGateway.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- Pink, Arthur W. (1923). "The Antichrist". biblebelievers.com. pp. Chapter 6, The Career of the Antichrist. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- "Peter I, czar of Russia". The Columbia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- Korihor is directly referred to in The Book of Mormon as an anti-Christ (Alma 30:6)
- LDS, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Bible Dictionary: Antichrist". Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
- Schink, W.F. "The Scriptural Doctrine of the Antichrist." Our Great Heritage: Vol. 3 Ed. Lange, Lyle and Albrecht, Jerome G. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing house, 1991. p. 572.
- Net Bible: Man of sin
- St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on II Thess., Nicene-Post Nicene Fathers
- (compare Bousset, Der Antichrist, 93 ff, etc.)
- See footnotes in Revelation 7 and 13 in the Scofield Reference Bible, 1917
- Bell, Rob; Golden, Don Jesus Wants to Save Christians 2008.
- The Antichrist Theme
in the Intertestamental Period - Page 31 G.W. Lorein - 2003
"Deuteronomy 13:1-6.... The functional equation of the religious aspect
of the Beast, of the False Prophet and of the Antichrist in the book of
Revelation is already being prepared here. There are also remarkable
links with the Antichrist passage in the First Epistle of John.172 b."
- William Horbury Messianism Among Jews and Christians: Biblical and Historical Studies 2003 Page 333 "Against this background it can be seen that the technical Greek term antichristos, although it is known only from Christian … Antichristos first occurs in the Johannine epistles, and it is not used by other Greek Jewish or early Christian writings ..."
- Jewish Encylcopedia: Armilus:
"bald-headed, with one large and one small eye, deaf in the right ear
and maimed in the right arm, while the left arm is two and one-half ells
long."
- Sahih Muslim, 41:7023
- Who is the evil Dajjal (the "anti-Christ")?
- Islam and Communism
- "Unveiling of the 'Unseen' by the Quran" in "Knowledge Revealation, Rationality and Truth" by Mirza Tahir Ahmad, hosted on Al Islam, the Official Website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Bibliography
- Foxe, John (1583). The Acts and Monuments, Book II. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- Jerome (1893) [347-420]. "Letter to Pope Damasus". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. p. 19. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- Jerome (1893b) [347-420]. "The Dialogue against the Luciferians". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. p. 334. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- Jerome (1893c) [347-420]. "Against the Pelagians, Book I". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. p. 449. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- Jerome (1893d) [347-420]. "Letter to Ageruchia". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. pp. 236–7. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- Jerome (1958) [347-420]. Archer, Gleason L., ed. Jerome's Commentary of Daniel (Translation). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- McGinn, Bernard (1994). Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination With Evil. New York: HarperCollins.
- Cabinet, Kristofer Widholm and Bernard McGinn (2001). "Antichrist: An Interview with Bernard McGinn". Cabinet Magazine. Issue 5 Evil Winter (Cabinet Magazine).
- Origen (1872) [185–254]. "Writings of Origen, vol 2". In Roberts, Rev. Alexander. Ante-Nicene Christian Library [Writings of the Fathers]. XXIII. James Donaldson. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. pp. 385–8. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- Schaff, Philip; Schley Schaff, David (1885). History of the Christian Church. Charles Scribner & Sons. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
Further reading
- Cohn, Norman (1970). The pursuit of the millennium (Rev. and expanded. ed.). New York: Oxford University press. ISBN 9780195004564.
- Hazlitt, William (1778-1830) Translator (Reprint 2007). Martin Luther on The Antichrist. Liskeard: Diggory. ISBN 9781846858048.
- Lindsey, Hal; Carole C. Carlson (1970). The late great planet earth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310277712.
- Miceli, Vincent P. (1981). The Antichrist. Harrison, N.Y.: Roman Catholic Books. ISBN 9780912141022.
- Schneemelcher, Wilhelm; Robert McLachlan Wilson, Trans. by R. McL. Wilson (2003). New Testament Apocrypha: Writings relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and related subjects, Vol. 2 (sixth German edition 1989, 1992, 2003 ed.). [S.l.]: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664227227.
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