Letters to the Church

The New Testament predicts several key events that will occur before the arrival of the Son of Man in glory . The New Testament predicts several events that will occur before Jesus returns. They will be the culmination of the period between Christ’s Ascension and his arrival, a period characterized by many deceptions, occasional persecution, and apostasy. Before this age ends, an especially destructive deceiver will appear in the Church, the final apostasy will take place, and Satan will launch his final attempt to destroy the Body of Christ.

The Spirit of the Antichrist is raising up deceivers in the Church, but a final Master Deceiver will appear at the end of the age . The Apostle John applied the term “ antichrists ”, plural, to false teachers who were disrupting his congregations, deceivers who denied that “ Jesus is the Christ ” and “ came in the flesh .” They were driven by the “ Spirit of the Antichrist ” that has been operating in the world since the beginning of human history.

Throughout the present age, the Church is being plagued by deceivers from within who are sent to destroy the Body of Christ . The Greek term translated as “ Antichrist ” in English versions of the New Testament is found only in two of John’s letters. In his first epistle, John warns his audience: “ It is the Last Hour; and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come .” John did not deny that an individual “ Antichrist ” would come. His point was that many “ antichrists ” were (and are) active in the Church.

The presence of false teachers in the Church demonstrates that the period known as the Last Days is underway . In his first epistle, John declares it is the  Last Hour . As evidence, he points to the presence of false teachers who are disrupting his congregations. The deceivers are the instruments of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ” that is active in the world. These same men are forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who is yet to come.

The term “antichrist” occurs only in the second and third letters of John, and the Apostle applies the plural form of the Greek noun to deceivers who were spreading false teachings in his congregations. The presence of “ antichrists ” constituted irrefutable evidence that the “ Last Days ” were underway, and the false teachers were the product of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ,” forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who was yet to come.

The “ Mystery of Lawlessness ” is active in the world, and especially so in the Body of Christ as it prepares hearts and minds for the “ arrival ” of the “ Man of Lawlessness ” and the “ Apostasy .” It will continue to do so until the appointed time when this “ Lawless One ” will “ come out of the midst ” and be unveiled in the “ Sanctuary of God .” Moreover, he then will employ “ lying signs and wonders ” to cause those who refuse the “ love of the truth ” to betray the Apostolic faith.

The Antichrist Spirit is working to destroy the church from within, especially through deception propagated by false teachers . In popular preaching, the  Antichrist  is a political tyrant intent on conquering the world. However, Jesus and his Apostles were more concerned with the  deceivers  who spread false teachings inside the Church than they were with outside political powers. The New Testament applies ‘ Antichrist ’ and related terms to false teachers that infiltrate the Body of Christ and distort the Apostolic Teachings.