Recognizing Anti-Christ

Popular Christianity works under a false notion of what the Bible speaks of in terms of “The Antichrist.” First of all, John’s epistles are much easier to read, translate, and understand than Revelation. An essential rule for Biblical interpretation is that what is clear takes precedence over what is not clear. Secondly, what is repeated received more weight than a one-off statement. John’s epistles should be given more credit than the uncertainties surrounding a few verses in Revelation.

John speaks clearly of multiple anti-Christs that had already arisen in his day. That refers to the turn of the First Century. He starts that comment with, “You have heard that anti-Christ is coming.” He is fully aware of an already popular concept of a coming anti-Christ. He then disparages that notion by saying that indeed, “many anti-Christs have already come.”

The term anti-Christ means just what the terms signify. It is any who are in opposition to Christ. As such, John points to an array of people who have been working in opposition to Christ. He would have noted them among the Gnostics of his era, as well as any who simply do not live according to the principles of God’s love for others. This is no unwieldy concept. There is no hidden teaching here to be uncovered. There is nothing particularly difficult or needing explanation as John writes about it.

John addresses this theme in chapter two.

“18 Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that an anti-Christ is coming, so now many anti-Christs have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the anti-Christ, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

John picks up on the theme in chapter four.

“2 By this you know the Breath of God: every breath that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every breath that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the breath of the anti-Christ, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.”

That ends John’s discussion on the theme of anti-Christs in his epistles. It’s not a complicated notion. Those in opposition to Jesus as Son and Christ and God are opponents and thus anti-Christs.

Revelation is another question, as the entire style of writing is much more mythical and poetic in nature. The book has more references and allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures than it has verses. Along the way, it uses multiple symbols in its many descriptions of characters that spring from its pages. As concerns the anti-Christ, however, it never uses the term found in First John. In chapter thirteen, we find two passages that reportedly speak to the question of an anti-Christ. Revelation 13:2 refers to a political anti-Christ tradition, while 13:13-14 refers to a religious anti-Christ tradition. These are specifically named as a beast from the sea and a beast from the land. The second beast calls on people to worship the first one.

1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have received a death blow, but its fatal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth speaking arrogant and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also, it was allowed to wage war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered. ...

11 Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon. 12 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 fatal wound had been healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all, 14 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, 15 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. 16 Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be given a brand on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the brand, that is, the name of the beast or the number for its name. [NRSV]

These beasts, dragon, and ancient serpent are a composite image reflecting all agency positioned in opposition to God. They are set within a fantastical narrative that is designed to evoke emotional reactions to its images, rather than any technical descriptions. At face value, most of the characters described in Revelation defy any rationale explanation, as the description of Jesus in chapter one that includes details for eyes and tongue while stating that his face shines as the brightest noonday sun. My eyes would not be able to pick out detail any better than I am able to make out solar flares or sun spots. The point, however, is the impact of hyperbole and the sense it generates by implication and symbolic imagery.

In the case of these beasts, dragon, and ancient serpent, they are simply representative of all those who would oppose God’s will. Attempts to identify any specific human being described by them fail before they begin, for this is Nero and Caligula and Julius and Augustus and Alexander and Atilla and Ivan and Pol Pot and Stalin and Mao and Lenin and Timur and Vlad and Idi Amin and the Crusaders and Columbus and Cortez and Hitler and Mussolini and so many more we would not be able to name. This is all of them at once. It refers to them all without distinction, but with emphasis on what they have in common. They have all arrayed themselves against God and at times even taken on a title of divinity.

Revelation does not speak of The Antichrist. It rather speaks of them all as taking the very same identity, action, and purpose. We are not looking for one who fits John’s description. We are looking for any and all who might fit the description, while being called to remain faithful to Christ.

Prophecy in the Bible is not so much predicting the future as it is speaking a message from God. To be a prophet is to be God’s mouthpiece. That may have some connection to future events, but more than not, it is about telling us about the present. Even when many of the Hebrew prophets spoke of the future, they most often spoke conditionally. “If we don’t change course, this is where we will end up.” That is why Jonah, sent to Nineveh to prophesy against the city could then complain, to Yahweh,

“I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” [NRSV Jonah 4:2b]

Jonah was acting the part of an anti-Christ by fleeing God’s command. Peter played the part as Jesus corrected him as being an enemy of God’s plan. Saul was playing the part while seeking to kill, capture, and torture followers of “The Way,” until his experience with Christ on the road to Damascus. Likewise, I am anti-Christ when I fail to love my neighbor. It matters not than I am not a dictator or world leader causing tremendous harm or enacting genocide. The only requirement to be an anti-Christ is to oppose God’s purposes as revealed in Jesus.

As John comments in his epistle, we have heard many times about the coming of one who would oppose God’s Anointed. If point of fact, they are already here. We have met them. Some of us have even been them. Rather than worry about some nebulous anti-Christ figure to beat them all, just love one another. That’s really what God wants, anyway.

— ©Copyright 2024, Christopher B. Harbin 

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