The Antichrist
Today we continue our Interregnum series on prophecy by examining another controversial figure in biblical apocalyptic literature: The Antichrist.The Antichrist is controversial largely because lots of people have their own interpretations of who he or it is and what he or it will be like. Often, people base their notions of what the Antichrist will be like in their own personal biblical interpretation. In fact, we know very little about the Antichrist. The Catechism tells us that the Antichrist will be “a supreme religious deception.”
St. Paul tells us about the Antichrist in 2 Thess. 2:3-4:
Let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
Who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God.
Scripture calls him the “Man of Sin,” or “the Son of Perdition.”
There are some, not without cause, who believe that the “Man of Sin” and the “Antichrist” are separate entities. Some believe that the Antichrist will, in fact, be a supreme religious deception, as well as a political one. It will be a system, some say, and not merely one man. The system will be Antichrist. John tells us the spirit of Antichrist was already in the world in his time, calling anyone who denied that Christ was come in the flesh an Antichrist. (II John 1:7). In I John 2:18 John tells us:
Little children, it is the last hour: and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour.
Clearly John believed he was living in the last days. He was right in the sense that the “last days” really began when the Church began. Since we have previously discussed God’s time clock, we know that the Lord does not reckon time in the same way that we do. It is fair to say that the Apostles understood that the spirit of Antichrist was already with them.
I do not know, nor would I presume to know, whether the Antichrist refers to a singular figure or to a system. I do believe that true believers will know him or it soon enough to refuse to accept the dictates of him or it. If the “Man of Sin” and “the Antichrist” are one in the same, what I am about to say is a moot point. If the Antichrist refers to an entire system and not to a singular person, then it might be fair to say that the “Man of Sin” would have some leadership role in that system.
Tomorrow, I will discuss the nature of the Second Coming, especially in light of Our Lord’s words in Matthew 24.
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 10:38 AM
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