THE ANTICHRIST: PART TWO

As I wrote yesterday, the name "antichrist" can mean "against Christ," or "instead of Christ." A better name for him is "the man of sin, or "the son of perdition" (2 Thes. 2:3). That is because, as I mentioned yesterday, the Apostle John wrote that there were already many "antichrists" in the world in his day. He described them as being those who "denith that Jesus is the Christ," and "that Jesus is come in the flesh" (1 Jn. 2:22; 4:3; 2 Jn. 1:7).

Here are a few of the ways the antichrist is described in the Word:

He is described as being in the image of Satan (Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3).
He is controlled by demonic spirits (Rev. 16:13-14).
He is like his "father" the devil in that he is a liar (2 Thes. 2:9-10).
He is a master of deceit (Dan. 7:25).
He is called "the lawless one" (2 Thes. 2:8).
He comes in his own name to do his own will (Jn. 5:43; Dan. 11:36).
He exalts himself instead of God (2 Thes. 2:4).
He comes as a destroyer (Dan. 8:24).
He desecrates the temple (2 Thes. 2:4).
He speaks blasphemies (Rev. 13:5-6).
He makes war on the saints (Dan. 7:21).
He takes peace from the earth (Rev. 6:4).

There are at least two persons in the Bible who are a type of the antichrist:

Antiochus Epiphanes, the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8, committed the "Abomination of Desolation" on Kislew (Nov.-Dec.) 25, 168 b.c. (Dan. 11:31). The "abomination of desolation" is believed to have been a pig sacrificed on the altar of burnt offering in the Temple, with the Jews being force to make obeisance to it. (Read more: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1589&letter=A#ixzz1TmBYu6oA).

The other person was a disciple of Christ, Judas Iscariot. In John 17:12, we read, "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul wrote concerning the antichrist, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will begin listing the passages describing the false messiah, his actions, and ultimately, his end.