The Signs Of The Antichrist

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. Revelation 13:18

Possibly one of the most fascinating topics in the study of the end-times is the Antichrist. Who is an antichrist? The apostle John talks much about him. 1 John 2:22-23 says, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 4:2-3 says, “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” So an antichrist could refer to any person, religion or political system that fights the existence of God and the sonship of Christ. John also says that “many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18). Truly, there have been antichrists in practically every generation. Nero Caesar, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Tze Tung were all antichrists. But John warns that in the “last hour” before the return of Christ, one particular Antichrist will arise in the world scene (2:18). He will come against God and His people. There are seven signs to help us identify the Antichrist:

1. He will have satanic power and authority. “The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2).
2. He will blaspheme against God. “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies … then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (13:5-6).
3. He will persecute Christians. “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (13:7).
4. His name is the number 666 (13:18). In many languages such as Latin, Hebrew and Greek, alphabets are not separated from numbers. Hence, a name can also be a number. In the case of the Antichrist, his is 666.
5. He is the man of sin. “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes fi rst, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3). That means that the Antichrist is an extremely sinful, wicked and lawless man.
6. He is the son of perdition (2:3). He is a destroyer of souls and nations.
7. He exalts Himself as God (2:4). He imbibes the spirit of Lucifer.