Antichrist

Antichrist (authoritarian figure on the left, with the attributes of a king) by Herrad von Landsberg (about 1180), Hortus Deliciarum – 12th century
Luca Signorelli's 1501 depiction of the face of antichrist, from the Orvieto Cathedral
Antichrist – detail from a fresco at Osogovo Monastery in the Republic of Macedonia. The inscription reads "All kings and nations bow before the Antichrist."

Antichrist (Greek: Ἀντίχριστος, translit. antichristos) is a term found five times in the New Testament, solely in the First and Second Epistle of John[1] (once in plural form[2] and four times in the singular).[2]

In the First Epistle of John appears the first mention of the word "antichrist", a term which the author then explains:

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

— 1 John 2:18–22

Before announcing the Great Tribulation, the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 24) alerts his disciples not to be deceived by the false prophets, which will claim themselves as being Christ, operating "great signs and wonders"[3].

According to Church Father John Chrysostom, one such antichrist, commonly understood to rise in power in the last days and often associated with the "little horn" in Daniel's final vision and the "man of sin" in Paul the Apostle's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians,[4] is explained by Paul as follows:

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

— 2 Thessalonians 2:8–12

In Islamic eschatology, Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (المسيح الدجال) is an anti-messiah figure (similar to the Christian concept of an antichrist), who will appear to deceive humanity before the second coming of "Isa", as Jesus is known by Muslims.

The concept of an antichrist is absent in traditional Judaism, although in some medieval texts the symbolic figure Armilus appears.

Etymology

The word "antichrist" combines two roots: αντί (anti) + Χριστός (Khristos). "Αντί" can mean not only "against" and "opposite of", but also "in place of".[5]

Christian views

New Testament

Whether the New Testament contains an individual Antichrist is disputed. The Greek term antikhristos originates in 1 John.[6] The similar term pseudokhristos ("False Messiah") is also first found in the New Testament, and, for example, never used by Josephus in his accounts of various false messiahs.[7] The concept of an antikhristos is not found in Jewish writings in the period 500 BC–50 AD. However, Bernard McGinn conjectures that the concept may have been generated by the frustration of Jews subject to often-capricious Seleucid or Roman rule, who found the nebulous Jewish idea of a Satan who is more of an opposing angel of God in the heavenly court insufficiently humanised and personalised to be a satisfactory incarnation of evil and threat.[8]

The five uses of the term "antichrist" or "antichrists" in the Johannine epistles do not clearly present a single latter-day individual Antichrist. The articles "the deceiver" or "the antichrist" are usually seen as marking out a certain category of persons, rather than an individual.[9]

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.

— 1 John 2:18 Douay-Rheims

Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist!

— 2 John 1:7 NRSV (1989)

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

— 1 John 2:22 NRSV (1989)

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.

— 1 John 4:2–3 NRSV (1989)

Consequently, attention for an individual Antichrist figure focuses on the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians.[10][11] However, the term "antichrist" is never used in this passage:

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.

— 2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 NRSV (1989)

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

— 2 Thessalonians 2:7–10 NRSV (1989)

Although the word "antichrist" (Greek antikhristos) is used only in the Epistles of John, the similar word "pseudochrist" (Greek pseudokhristos, meaning "false messiah") is used by Jesus in the Gospels:[7]

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

— Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22 NRSV (1989)

Early Church

The only one of the late 1st/early 2nd century Apostolic Fathers to use the term is Polycarp (c. 69 – c. 155) who warned the Philippians that everyone who preached false doctrine was an antichrist.[12] His use of the term Antichrist follows that of the New Testament in not identifying a single personal Antichrist, but a class of people.[13]

Irenaeus (2nd century AD – c. 202) wrote Against Heresies to refute the teachings of the Gnostics. In Book V of Against Heresies he addresses the figure of the Antichrist referring to him as the "recapitulation of apostasy and rebellion." He uses "666", the Number of the Beast from Revelation 13:18, to numerologically decode several possible names. Some names that he loosely proposed were "Evanthos", "Lateinos" ("Latin" or pertaining to the Roman Empire). In his exegesis of Daniel 7:21, he stated that the ten horns of the beast will be the Roman empire divided into ten kingdoms before the Antichrist's arrival. However, his readings of the Antichrist were more in broader theological terms rather than within a historical context.[14]

The non-canonical Ascension of Isaiah presents a detailed exposition of the Antichrist as Belial and Nero.[15]

Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220 AD) held that the Roman Empire was the restraining force written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7–8. The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the disintegration of the ten provinces of the Roman Empire into ten kingdoms were to make way for the Antichrist.

By, "For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first," he [Paul] means indeed this present empire, "and the man of lawlessness is revealed"—that is to say, the Antichrist, "the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or religion, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed." What obstacles are there but the Roman state, the rebellion of which, by being scattered into the ten kingdoms, will introduce the Antichrist upon its own ruins? "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing."[16]

Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 – c. 236) held that the Antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan and would rebuild the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in order to reign from it. He identified the Antichrist with the Beast out of the Earth from the book of Revelation.

By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet after him. And in speaking of "horns like a lamb," he means that he will make himself like the Son of God, and set himself forward as king. And the terms, "it spoke like a dragon," mean that he is a deceiver, and not truthful.[17]

Origen (185–254) refuted Celsus's view of the Antichrist. Origen utilized Scriptural citations from Daniel, Paul, and the Gospels. He argued:

Where is the absurdity, then, in holding that there exist among men, so to speak, two extremes—the one of virtue, and the other of its opposite; so that the perfection of virtue dwells in the man who realizes the ideal given in Jesus, from whom there flowed to the human race so great a conversion, and healing, and amelioration, while the opposite extreme is in the man who embodies the notion of him that is named Antichrist?... one of these extremes, and the best of the two, should be styled the Son of God, on account of His pre-eminence; and the other, who is diametrically opposite, be termed the son of the wicked demon, and of Satan, and of the devil. And, in the next place, since evil is specially characterized by its diffusion, and attains its greatest height when it simulates the appearance of the good, for that reason are signs, and marvels, and lying miracles found to accompany evil, through the cooperation of its father the devil.[18]

Post-Nicene Christianity

Cyril of Jerusalem, in the mid-4th century, delivered his 15th Catechetical lecture about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in which he also lectures about the Antichrist, who will reign as the ruler of the world for three and a half years, before he is killed by Jesus Christ right at the end of his three-and-a-half-year reign, shortly after which the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will happen.

Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 298–373), writes that Arius of Alexandria is to be associated with the Antichrist, saying, "And ever since [the Council of Nicaea] has Arius's error been reckoned for a heresy more than ordinary, being known as Christ's foe, and harbinger of Antichrist."[19]

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) warned against speculating about the Antichrist, saying, "Let us not therefore enquire into these things". He preached that by knowing Paul's description of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians, Christians would avoid deception.[20]

Jerome (c. 347–420) warned that those substituting false interpretations for the actual meaning of Scripture belonged to the "synagogue of the Antichrist".[21] "He that is not of Christ is of Antichrist", he wrote to Pope Damasus I.[22] He believed that "the mystery of lawlessness" written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 was already in action when "every one chatters about his views."[23] To Jerome, the power restraining this mystery of lawlessness was the Roman Empire, but as it fell this restraining force was removed. He warned a noble woman of Gaul:

He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth." "Woe unto them," he cries, "that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days."... Savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul. The whole country between the Alps and the Pyrenees, between the Rhine and the Ocean, has been laid waste by hordes of Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Alans, Gepids, Herules, Saxons, Burgundians, Alemanni, and—alas for the commonweal!—even Pannonians.[24]

In his Commentary on Daniel, Jerome noted, "Let us not follow the opinion of some commentators and suppose him to be either the Devil or some demon, but rather, one of the human race, in whom Satan will wholly take up his residence in bodily form."[25] Instead of rebuilding the Jewish Temple to reign from, Jerome thought the Antichrist sat in God's Temple inasmuch as he made "himself out to be like God."[25] He refuted Porphyry's idea that the "little horn" mentioned in Daniel chapter 7 was Antiochus IV Epiphanes by noting that the "little horn" is defeated by an eternal, universal ruler, right before the final judgment.[25] Instead, he advocated that the "little horn" was the Antichrist:

We should therefore concur with the traditional interpretation of all the commentators of the Christian Church, that at the end of the world, when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall be ten kings who will partition the Roman world amongst themselves. Then an insignificant eleventh king will arise, who will overcome three of the ten kings... after they have been slain, the seven other kings also will bow their necks to the victor.[25]

Circa 380, an apocalyptic pseudo-prophecy falsely attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl describes Constantine as victorious over Gog and Magog. Later on, it predicts:

When the Roman empire shall have ceased, then the Antichrist will be openly revealed and will sit in the House of the Lord in Jerusalem. While he is reigning, two very famous men, Elijah and Enoch, will go forth to announce the coming of the Lord. Antichrist will kill them and after three days they will be raised up by the Lord. Then there will be a great persecution, such as has not been before nor shall be thereafter. The Lord will shorten those days for the sake of the elect, and the Antichrist will be slain by the power of God through Michael the Archangel on the Mount of Olives.[26]

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) wrote "it is uncertain in what temple [the Antichrist] shall sit, whether in that ruin of the temple which was built by Solomon, or in the Church."[27]

Pope Gregory I wrote to the Byzantine Emperor Maurice in A.D. 597, concerning the titles of bishops, "I say with confidence that whoever calls or desires to call himself 'universal priest' in self-exaltation of himself is a precursor of the Antichrist."[28]

By the end of the tenth century, Adso of Montier-en-Der, a Benedictine monk, compiled a biography of Antichrist based on a variety of exegetical and Sibylline sources; his account became one of the best-known descriptions of Antichrist in the Middle Ages.[29][30]

Pre-Reformation Western Church accusers

Woodcut showing the Antichrist, 1498

Arnulf, archbishop of Reims disagreed with the policies and morals of Pope John XV. He expressed his views while presiding over the Council of Reims in A.D. 991. Arnulf accused John XV of being the Antichrist while also using the 2 Thessalonians passage about the "man of lawlessness" (or "lawless one"), saying: "Surely, if he is empty of charity and filled with vain knowledge and lifted up, he is Antichrist sitting in God's temple and showing himself as God." This incident is history's earliest record of anyone identifying a pope with the Antichrist (see Christian Historicism).[31]

Pope Gregory VII (c. 1015 or 1029 – 1085), struggled against, in his own words, "a robber of temples, a perjurer against the Holy Roman Church, notorious throughout the whole Roman world for the basest of crimes, namely, Wilbert, plunderer of the holy church of Ravenna, Antichrist, and arch-heretic."[32]

Cardinal Benno, on the opposite side of the Investiture Controversy, wrote long descriptions of abuses committed by Gregory VII, including necromancy, torture of a former friend upon a bed of nails, commissioning an attempted assassination, executions without trials, unjust excommunication, doubting the Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and even burning it.[33] Benno held that Gregory VII was "either a member of Antichrist, or Antichrist himself."[34]

Eberhard II von Truchsees, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1241, denounced Pope Gregory IX at the Council of Regensburg as "that man of perdition, whom they call Antichrist, who in his extravagant boasting says, I am God, I cannot err."[35] He argued that the ten kingdoms that the Antichrist is involved with[36] were the "Turks, Greeks, Egyptians, Africans, Spaniards, French, English, Germans, Sicilians, and Italians who now occupy the provinces of Rome."[37] He held that the papacy was the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8:[38]

"A little horn has grown up" with "eyes and mouth speaking great things", which is reducing three of these kingdoms (i.e. Sicily, Italy, and Germany) to subserviency, is persecuting the people of Christ and the saints of God with intolerable opposition, is confounding things human and divine, and is attempting things unutterable, execrable.[37]

Protestant Reformation

From a series of woodcuts (1545) usually referred to as the Papstspotbilder or Papstspottbilder,[39] by Lucas Cranach, commissioned by Martin Luther.[40] "Kissing the Pope's feet";[41] German peasants respond to a papal bull of Pope Paul III. Caption reads: "Don't frighten us Pope, with your ban, and don't be such a furious man. Otherwise we shall turn around and show you our rears".[42][43]
Passional Christi und Antichristi, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, from Luther's 1521 Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist. The Pope as the Antichrist, signing and selling indulgences.

Protestant Reformers, including John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox, Roger Williams, Cotton Mather, and John Wesley, as well as most Protestants of the 16th-18th centuries, felt that the Early Church had been led into the Great Apostasy by the Papacy and identified the Pope with the Antichrist.[44][45] The Centuriators of Magdeburg, a group of Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg headed by Matthias Flacius, wrote the 12-volume Magdeburg Centuries to discredit the Catholic Church and lead other Christians to recognize the Pope as the Antichrist. So, rather than expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in the Papacy.[44][46]

Among the others who interpreted the Biblical prophecy historistically there were many Church Fathers; Justin Martyr wrote about the Antichrist: "He Whom Daniel foretells would have dominion for a time and times and an half, is even now at the door".[47] Irenaeus wrote in Against Heresies about the coming of the Antichrist: "This Antichrist shall ... devastate all things ... But then, the Lord will come from Heaven on the clouds ... for the righteous".[48] Tertullian looking to the Antichrist wrote: "He is to sit in the temple of God, and boast himself as being god. In our view, he is Antichrist as taught us in both the ancient and the new prophecies; and especially by the Apostle John, who says that 'already many false-prophets are gone out into the world' as the fore-runners of Antichrist".[49] Hippolytus of Rome in his Treatise on Christ and Antichrist wrote: "As Daniel also says (in the words) 'I considered the Beast, and look! There were ten horns behind it – among which shall rise another (horn), an offshoot, and shall pluck up by the roots the three (that were) before it.' And under this, was signified none other than Antichrist."[50][51] Athanasius of Alexandria clearly hold to the historical view in his many writings; in The Deposition of Arius, he wrote: "I addressed the letter to Arius and his fellows, exhorting them to renounce his impiety.... There have gone forth in this diocese at this time certain lawless men – enemies of Christ – teaching an apostasy which one may justly suspect and designate as a forerunner of Antichrist".[52] Jerome wrote: "Says the apostle [Paul in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians], 'Unless the Roman Empire should first be desolated, and antichrist proceed, Christ will not come.'" He also identifies the Little horn of Daniel 7:8 and 7:24–25 which "shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law" as the Papacy.[53]

Some Franciscans had considered the Emperor Frederick II a positive Antichrist who would purify the Catholic Church from opulence, riches and clergy.[54]

Some of the debated features of the Reformation's Historicist interpretations reached beyond the Book of Revelation. They included the identification of:

The Protestant Reformers tended to hold the belief that the Antichrist power would be revealed so that everyone would comprehend and recognize that the Pope is the real, true Antichrist and not the vicar of Christ. Doctrinal works of literature published by the Lutherans, the Reformed Churches, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Anabaptists, and the Methodists contain references to the Pope as the Antichrist, including the Smalcald Articles, Article 4 (1537),[55] the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope written by Philip Melanchthon (1537),[56] the Westminster Confession, Article 25.6 (1646), and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Article 26.4. In 1754, John Wesley published his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, which is currently an official Doctrinal Standard of the United Methodist Church. In his notes on the Book of Revelation (chapter 13), he commented: "The whole succession of Popes from Gregory VII are undoubtedly Antichrists. Yet this hinders not, but that the last Pope in this succession will be more eminently the Antichrist, the Man of Sin, adding to that of his predecessors a peculiar degree of wickedness from the bottomless pit."[57][58]

In calling the pope the "Antichrist", the early Lutherans stood in a tradition that reached back into the eleventh century. Not only dissidents and heretics but even saints had called the bishop of Rome the "Antichrist" when they wished to castigate his abuse of power. What Lutherans understood as a papal claim to unlimited authority over everything and everyone reminded them of the apocalyptic imagery of Daniel 11, a passage that even prior to the Reformation had been applied to the pope as the Antichrist of the last days.[45]

The identification of the Pope with the Antichrist was so ingrained in the Reformation Era, that Luther himself stated it repeatedly:

"This teaching [of the supremacy of the pope] shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God".[59]

and,

"nothing else than the kingdom of Babylon and of the very Antichrist. For who is the man of sin and the son of perdition, but he who by his teaching and his ordinances increases the sin and perdition of souls in the church; while he yet sits in the church as if he were God? All these conditions have now for many ages been fulfilled by the papal tyranny."[60]

John Calvin similarly wrote:

"Though it be admitted that Rome was once the mother of all Churches, yet from the time when it began to be the seat of Antichrist it has ceased to be what it was before. Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman Pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt ... I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy."[61]

John Knox wrote on the Pope:

"Yea, to speak it in plain words; lest that we submit ourselves to Satan, thinking that we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ, for, as for your Roman kirk, as it is now corrupted, and the authority thereof, whereon stands the hope of your victory, I no more doubt but that it is the synagogue of Satan, and the head thereof, called the pope, to be that man of sin, of whom the apostle speaks."[62]

Thomas Cranmer on the Antichrist wrote:

"Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of Antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons."[63]

John Wesley, speaking of the identity given in the Bible of the Antichrist, wrote:

"In many respects, the Pope has an indisputable claim to those titles. He is, in an emphatical sense, the man of sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled, the son of perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers, destroyed innumerable souls, and will himself perish everlastingly. He it is that opposeth himself to the emperor, once his rightful sovereign; and that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped – Commanding angels, and putting kings under his feet, both of whom are called gods in scripture; claiming the highest power, the highest honour; suffering himself, not once only, to be styled God or vice-God. Indeed no less is implied in his ordinary title, "Most Holy Lord," or, "Most Holy Father." So that he sitteth – Enthroned. In the temple of God – Mentioned Rev. xi, 1. Declaring himself that he is God – Claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone."[64]

Roger Williams wrote about the Pope:

"the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself ... speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the Son of Perdition."[65]

The identification of the Roman Catholic Church as the apostate power written of in the Bible as the Antichrist became evident to many as the Reformation began, including John Wycliffe, who was well-known throughout Europe for his opposition to the doctrine and practices of the Catholic Church, which he believed had clearly deviated from the original teachings of the early Church and to be contrary to the Bible. Wycliffe himself tells (Sermones, III. 199) how he concluded that there was a great contrast between what the Church was and what it ought to be, and saw the necessity for reform. Along with John Hus, they had started the inclination toward ecclesiastical reforms of the Catholic Church.

When the Swiss Reformer Huldrych Zwingli became the pastor of the Grossmünster in Zurich (1518) he began to preach ideas on reforming the Catholic Church. Zwingli, who was a Catholic priest before he became a Reformer, often referred to the Pope as the Antichrist. He wrote: "I know that in it works the might and power of the Devil, that is, of the Antichrist".[66]

The English Reformer William Tyndale held that while the Roman Catholic realms of that age were the empire of Antichrist, any religious organization that distorted the doctrine of the Old and New Testaments also showed the work of Antichrist. In his treatise The Parable of the Wicked Mammon, he expressly rejected the established Church teaching that looked to the future for an Antichrist to rise up, and he taught that Antichrist is a present spiritual force that will be with us until the end of the age under different religious disguises from time to time.[67] Tyndale's translation of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, concerning the "Man of Lawlessness" reflected his understanding, but was significantly amended by later revisers,[68] including the King James Bible committee, which followed the Vulgate more closely.

Exactly as prophecy had given, in 1798 Pope Pius VI was taken prisoner by the armies of Napoleon I, and died in captivity in France, and it appeared the Papacy had been dealt a death blow, or its power taken or wounded and yet it was restored: "One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the Beast" (Revelation 13:3).

In 1870, the newly formed Kingdom of Italy annexed the remaining Papal States, depriving the Pope of his temporal power. However, the Papal rule over Italy was later restored by the Italian Fascist regime[69] (albeit on a greatly diminished scale) in 1929 as head of the Vatican City state;[69] under Mussolini's dictatorship, Roman Catholicism became the State religion of Fascist Italy[69][70] (see also Clerical fascism), and the Racial Laws were enforced to outlaw and persecute both Italian Jews[71] and Protestant Christians,[70][72][73][74] especially Evangelicals and Pentecostals.[72][73][74] Thousands of Italian Jews and a small number of Protestants died in the Nazi concentration camps.[71][74]

Today, many Protestant and Restorationist denominations still officially maintain that the Papacy is the Antichrist, such as the conservative Lutheran Churches[75][76][77] and the Seventh-day Adventists.[78][79][80][81][82] In 1988 Ian Paisley, Evangelical minister and founder of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, made headlines with such a statement about Pope John Paul II.[83] The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod states about the Pope and the Catholic Church:[75]

There are two principles that mark the papacy as the Antichrist. One is that the pope takes to himself the right to rule the church that belongs only to Christ. He can make laws forbidding the marriage of priests, eating or not eating meat on Friday, birth control, divorce and remarriage, even where there are not such laws in the Bible. The second is that he teaches that salvation is not by faith alone but by faith and works. The present pope upholds and practices these principles. This marks his rule as antichristian rule in the church. All popes hold the same office over the church and promote the same antichristian belief so they all are part of the reign of the Antichrist. The Bible does not present the Antichrist as one man for one short time, but as an office held by a man through successive generations. It is a title like King of England.[84]

Roman Catholicism

Fulton J. Sheen, a Roman Catholic bishop, wrote in 1951:[85][86]

The Antichrist will not be so called; otherwise he would have no followers... he will come disguised as the Great Humanitarian; he will talk peace, prosperity and plenty not as means to lead us to God, but as ends in themselves... He will tempt Christians with the same three temptations with which he tempted Christ... He will have one great secret which he will tell to no one: he will not believe in God. Because his religion will be brotherhood without the fatherhood of God, he will deceive even the elect. He will set up a counterchurch... It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ.

In the Counter-Reformation, Preterism and Futurism, was advanced by Catholic Jesuits beginning in the 16th century in response to the identification of the Papacy as Antichrist. These were rival methods of prophetic interpretation: the futurist and the preterist systems both of which are in conflict with the historicist method and the interpretations derived thereby.

Historically, preterists and non-preterists have generally agreed that the Jesuit Luis de Alcasar (1554–1613) wrote the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy—Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi (published in 1614)—during the Counter-Reformation.

Preterism interprets the Book of Daniel as referring to events of the past, that happened in the 2nd century BC, while seeing the prophecies in the Book of Revelation as events that happened in the first century AD. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

The view of Futurism, that the events happen in the end time, was advanced by Francisco Ribera, a Jesuit priest, who developed this theory in In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij, his 1585 treatise on the Book of Revelation. Saint Robert Bellarmine codified this view, giving in full the Catholic theory set forth by the Greek and Latin Fathers, of a personal Antichrist to come just before the end of the world and to be accepted by the Jews and enthroned in the temple at Jerusalem — thus endeavoring to dispose of the exposition which saw Antichrist in the pope. Most premillennial dispensationalists now accept Bellarmine's interpretation in modified form. Widespread Protestant identification of the Papacy as the Antichrist persisted in the USA until the early 1900s when the Scofield Reference Bible was published by Cyrus Scofield. This commentary promoted Futurism, causing a decline in the Protestant identification of the Papacy as Antichrist.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.

676 The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.

Old Believers

After Patriarch Nikon of Moscow reformed the Russian Orthodox Church during the second half of the 17th century, a large number of Old Believers held that Peter the Great, the Tsar of the Russian Empire until his death in 1725, was the Antichrist because of his treatment of the Orthodox Church, namely subordinating the church to the state, requiring clergymen to conform to the standards of all Russian civilians (shaved beards, being fluent in French), and requiring them to pay state taxes.[87]

Age of Enlightenment

Bernard McGinn noted that complete denial of the Antichrist was rare until the Age of Enlightenment. Following frequent use of "Antichrist" laden rhetoric during religious controversies in the 17th century, the use of the concept declined in the 18th century. Subsequent eighteenth-century efforts to cleanse Christianity of "legendary" or "folk" accretions effectively removed the Antichrist from discussion in mainstream Western churches.[8]

Mormonism

In Mormonism, the "Antichrist" is anyone or anything that counterfeits the true gospel or plan of salvation and that openly or secretly is set up in opposition to Christ. The great antichrist is Lucifer, but he has many assistants[88] both as spirit beings and as mortals."[89] Latter-day Saints use the New Testament scriptures, 1 John 2:18, 22; 1 John 4:3–6; 2 John 1:7 and the Book of Mormon, Jacob 7:1–23, Alma 1:2–16, Alma 30:6–60, in their exegesis or interpretation of the Antichrist.

Seventh-day Adventists

Seventh-day Adventists teach that the "Little Horn Power", which (as predicted in the Book of Daniel) rose after the break-up of the Roman Empire, is the Papacy. In 533, Justinian I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire (sometimes referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire), legally recognized the bishop (pope) of Rome as the head of all the Christian churches.[90] Because of the Arian domination of some of the Roman Empire by barbarian tribes, the bishop of Rome could not fully exercise such authority. In 538, Belisarius, one of Justinian's generals, freed the city of Rome from its Arian barbarian Ostrogoth besiegers and the bishop of Rome could begin establishing universal civil authority. So, by the military intervention of the Eastern Roman Empire, the bishop of Rome became all-powerful throughout the area of the old Roman Empire.

Like many reformation-era Protestant leaders, the Adventist pioneer Ellen G. White (1827–1915) spoke of the Catholic Church as a fallen church in preparation for its nefarious eschatological role as the antagonist against God's true church and saw the pope as the Antichrist. Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther, John Knox, William Tyndale and others held similar beliefs about the Catholic Church and the papacy when they broke away from the Catholic Church during the reformation.[91]

Ellen White writes,

His word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.[92]

Seventh-day Adventists view the length of time the apostate church's unbridled power was permitted to rule as shown in Daniel 7:25: "The little horn would rule a time and times and half a time" or 1,260 years. They regard papal rule as supreme in Europe from 538 (when the Arian Ostrogoths retreated from Rome into temporary oblivion) until 1798 (when the French general Louis-Alexandre Berthier took Pope Pius VI captive)—a period of 1,260 years.

Martin Wight

Devout Christian and political theorist Martin Wight, writing immediately after World War Two, favoured the revival of the Antichrist doctrine; not as a person, but as a recurrent situation featuring 'demonic concentrations of power'.[93]

As "man of lawlessness"

The Antichrist has been equated with the "man of lawlessness" or "lawless one" of 2 Thessalonians 2:3, though commentaries on the identity of the "man of lawlessness" greatly vary.[94] The "man of lawlessness" has been identified with Caligula,[95] Nero,[96] and the end times Antichrist. Some scholars believe that the passage contains no genuine prediction, but represents a speculation of the apostle's own, based on contemporary ideas of the Antichrist.[95]

As "being in league with other figures"

Several American evangelical and fundamentalist theologians, including Cyrus Scofield, have identified the Antichrist as being in league with (or the same as) several figures in the Book of Revelation including the Dragon (or Serpent), the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Whore of Babylon.[97] Voices in the Emerging Church, such as Rob Bell, reject the identification of the Antichrist with any one person or group. They believe a loving Christ would not view anyone as an enemy.[98]

As Satan

Bernard McGinn described multiple traditions detailing the relationship between the Antichrist and Satan. In the dualist approach, Satan will become incarnate in the Antichrist, just as God became incarnate in Jesus. However, in Orthodox Christian thought, this view was problematic because it was too similar to Christ's incarnation. Instead, the "indwelling" view became more accepted. It stipulates that the Antichrist is a human figure inhabited by Satan, since the latter's power is not to be seen as equivalent to God's.[8]

Non-Christian views

Judaism

There are warnings against false prophets in the Hebrew Bible, but no personal anti-Messiah figure.[99]

A parodic anti-Messiah type figure known as Armilus, said to be the offspring of Satan and a virgin, appears in some non-legalistic, philosophical schools of Jewish eschatology, such as the 7th century CE Sefer Zerubbabel and 11th century CE Midrash Vayosha (also: "Midrash wa-Yosha"). He is described as "a monstrosity, bald-headed, with one large and one small eye, deaf in the right ear and maimed in the right arm, while the left arm is two and one-half ells long." Being Gog's successor, his inevitable destruction by a "Messiah ben Joseph" (Messiah, son of Joseph (son of Jacob)), symbolizes the ultimate victory of good over evil in the Messianic Age.[100] This is confronted with the medieval Christian Antichrist and Islamic Dajjal, who will conquer Jerusalem and persecute the Jews.

Islam

Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic: الدّجّال‎, literally "The Deceiving Messiah"), is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology. Although not mentioned in the Quran the details of his coming and life is explicitly mentioned in the authentic hadith hence Muslims believe he is to appear pretending to be the Messiah then God at a time in the future, before "Yawm al-Qiyamah" (The Day of Resurrection, Judgement Day). He will travel around the globe entering every city except Mecca, Medina, Mount Sinai and Jerusalem. Then Isa (Jesus) will descend from the sky to the white minaret (commonly held as being in the Umayyad Mosque) east of Damascus (as referred to in hadith), placing his hands on the backs of two angels, at the time of the Fajr (dawn) prayer. This will happen at the time of the Dajjal and Isa (Jesus) will be the one to eventually defeat the Dajjal.[101]

Ahmadiyya

See also: Dajjal in Ahmadiyya Islam

Prophecies concerning the emergence of the Antichrist (Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl) are interpreted in Ahmadiyya teachings as designating a specific group of nations centred upon falsehood instead of an individual, with the reference to the Antichrist as an individual indicating its unity as a class or system rather than its personal individuality. As such, Ahmadi Muslims identify the Antichrist collectively with the missionary expansion and colonial dominance of European Christianity throughout the world that was propelled by the Industrial Revolution.[102][103][104] Mirza Ghulam Ahmad wrote extensively on this topic identifying the Antichrist principally with colonial missionaries who, according to him, were to be countered through argumentation rather than by physical warfare, and whose power and influence was to wane gradually.[105]

While the term Dajjāl is taken as a reference to the forces of falsehood in matters of ideology and religious belief, prophecies concerning Gog and Magog (or Yaʾjūj Maʾjūj) are taken as relating to the duplicity in the realm of politics and the shattering of world peace by the same forces – whose ancestors are thought to be the Slavic and Teutonic peoples – and are seen as embodied by the political dominance of European powers.[106][104] The conflict between Russia and the United States as two superpowers, or the militant rivalry between the communist and capitalist systems and their impact over the nations of the world, are thus seen as having occurred in accordance with prophecies concerning Gog and Magog.[107][108] These powers cannot be defeated through military force and are to be overcome through prayer and divine intervention. Islam is then seen as that which alone would succeed in bringing people of different nations together as per the Quran (18:99).[106]

Baha'i

The Antichrist is considered to subvert the religion of God from the inner reality of man as 'Abdu'l-Baha narrates: "Christ was a divine Center of unity and love. Whenever discord prevails instead of unity, wherever hatred and antagonism take the place of love and spiritual fellowship, Antichrist reigns instead of Christ."[109]

On February 1900, the Christian Russian philosopher and mystic Vladimir Solovyov published the apocalyptic A Short Tale of the Antichrist, showing his prophetic vision about the incoming 20th century and the end of the human history[110][111]. The antichrist is prophetized as a lawyer which will present himself to th whole humanity like a pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist, "will convoke an ecumenical council and will seek the consensus of all the Christian confessions, granting something to each one."[110].

Rued Langgaard's only opera, Antikrist (1921–3; 1926, 1930), is an allegorical church opera centred around the figure of the Antichrist.

The term "Antichrist" is widely used in popular culture, and most prominently in punk subculture. This trend was spurred by the Sex Pistols' song, "Anarchy in the U.K.", in which lead singer Johnny Rotten proclaimed that he was an "antichrist". After the release of the song, adherents of the punk culture began to use the word as a term to describe someone who is very vulgar, crude, or rebellious. However, after Johnny Rotten's denunciation of useless violence in his years with Public Image Ltd, this trend began to subside with those who had used it for the sheer sake of being "punk". It is now used in the fringe groups of anarcho-punks and is most commonly used to describe those who practise violent and sensational forms of anarchy.

In the 1976 horror film The Omen, the antichrist is portrayed as Damien Thorn, the adoptive son of American ambassador Robert Thorn and his wife, Katherine, portrayed by Gregory Peck and Lee Remick respectively. He appears in two sequels to the original film, a 2006 remake and a 2016 television series.

The term Antichrist also features heavily in the earlier work of Marilyn Manson, with the 1996 album, Antichrist Superstar, being the most famous. The Antichrist also appears in an episode of American Dad titled "Rapture's Delight" appearing as the exact opposite of Jesus and causes the death of Stan Smith. Again, the Antichrist appears in American Dad as Hayley and Jeff Fischer's adopted son "Nemo."

In the FX series American Horror Story, the antichrist is revealed to be Michael Langdon, the product of an inhuman union between the ghost Tate Langdon and human Vivien Harmon. The eighth season American Horror Story: Apocalypse featured an older version of Langdon, portrayed by Australian actor Cody Fern.

See also

References

  1. ↑ BibleGateway.com: translations of 1 John 2:18
  2. 1 2 "KJV Search Results for Antichrists". The Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  3. ↑ "1611 King James Bible, Gospel of Matthew, at chapter 24, vv. 3 to 5, 24". Archived from the original on Apr 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ Chrysostom, John. "Homily 4 on Second Thessalonians".
  5. ↑ See Strong's Bible Dictionary: αντί and the Lexicon to Pindar. Related terms as noted by the Catholic Encyclopedia include: antibasileus - a king who fills an interregnum; antistrategos - a propraetor; anthoupatos - a proconsul; antitheos - in Homer, one resembling a god in power and beauty (in other works it stands for a hostile god).
  6. ↑ William Horbury, Messianism Among Jews and Christians: Biblical and Historical Studies 2003 Page 333 "Against this background it can be seen that the technical Greek term antichristos, although it is known only from Christian … Antichristos first occurs in the Johannine epistles, and it is not used by other Greek Jewish or early Christian writings ..."
  7. 1 2 The Gospel of Peace: A Scriptural Message for Today's World - Page 70 Ulrich Mauser - 1992 "From Josephus's writings we collect, first of all, without much critical comment, some statements showing the close affinity of the … nowhere in his extensive accounts of the Jewish–Roman war uses the word "pseudo-Christ" (pseudochristos)."
  8. 1 2 3 Cabinet 2001.
  9. ↑ Robert Yarbrough 1-3 John Page 344 2008 "The articles in front of "deceiver" (ὁ πλάνος, ho planos) and "antichrist" (ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ho antikhristos) should be seen as marking out a certain category of persons (Wallace 1996: 227–30). This is a common Johannine usage (1 John 2:23; "
  10. ↑ Jeffrey Alan David Weima, Stanley E. Porter Annotated Bibliography of 1 & 2 Thessalonians - Page 263 1998 "(2) Does the New Testament support the notion of an individual Antichrist in whom all the anti-Christian strife of all ages will be concentrated? 2 Thess 2 answers the second question in the affirmative: an individual Antichrist will bring evil to its ..."
  11. ↑ Anthony A. Hoekema The Bible and the Future - Page 159 - 1979 "Whereas Berkouwer states, "There is no reason to posit with certainty on the basis of the New Testament that the antichrist ... 2. particularly his statements about the "restrainer," compel us to believe that there will be a future, individual antichrist."
  12. ↑ Polycap's Letter to the Philippians, paragraph 7
  13. ↑ The Early Christians In Ephesus From Paul To Ignatius - Page 268 Paul Trebilco - 2004 "Finally, Hartog notes that the Johannine Letters are the only NT writings to use the term "antichrist" (1 Jn 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn 7) and Polycarp is also the only Apostolic Father to use the term. He notes "Thus, the tests of 'density' and 'singularity' ..."
  14. ↑ Hughes, Kevin L. (2005). Constructing antichrist : Paul, biblical commentary, and the development of doctrine in the early Middle Ages. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. pp. 29–31. ISBN 9780813214153.
  15. ↑ The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D - Page 140 Geoffrey W. Bromiley - 1979 "The fullest exposition of the ideas associated with the antichrist in the early decades of Christian history is to be found in the Ascension of Isaiah. In this we are told that "Beliar" (Belial) would enter into "the matricide king" (Nero), who would work great wonders and do much evil."
  16. ↑ "On the Resurrection, chp 24". Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  17. ↑ Hippolytus's Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, part 2
  18. ↑ Origen 1872, p. 386
  19. ↑ from Athanasius' "Four Discourses"
  20. ↑ Chrysostom Homily 1 on the 2nd Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians
  21. ↑ Jerome 1893b, p. 334
  22. ↑ Jerome 1893, p. 19
  23. ↑ Jerome 1893c, p. 449
  24. ↑ Jerome 1893d, pp. 236–7
  25. 1 2 3 4 Jerome 1958
  26. ↑ "Latin Tiburtine Sibyl". Http-server.carleton.ca. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  27. ↑ "CHURCH FATHERS: City of God, Book XX (St. Augustine)".
  28. ↑ quote from McGinn, Bernard, Visions of the End. Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages, New York: Columbia University, 1979. p. 64,.found in Brug's A Scriptural and Historical Survey of the Doctrine of the Antichrist Archived November 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ↑ Emmerson, Richard Kenneth (1981). "The Life and Deeds of Antichrist". Antichrist in the Middle Ages. Seattle: U of Washington P. pp. 74–107.
  30. ↑ Emerson, Richard Kenneth (1979). "Antichrist as Anti-Saint: The Significance of Abbot Adso's Libellus de Antichristo". American Benedictine Review. 30 (2): 175–90.
  31. ↑ Bernard McGinn (2000), Anti-Christ: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination With Evil, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 100. and Schaff & Schley Schaff 1885, p. 291
  32. ↑ See The Correspondence of Pope Gregory VII trans. Ephraim Emerton. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990., p. 162.
  33. ↑ From long quotations in Foxe 1583, p. 121
  34. ↑ quoted by David M. Whitford, The Papal Antichrist: Martin Luther and the Underappreciated Influence of Lorenzo Valla, Renaissance Quarterly, 61:26–52, Spring 2008
  35. ↑ The Methodist Review Vol. XLIII, No. 3, p. 305.
  36. ↑ See Daniel 7:23-25, Revelation 13:1-2, and Revelation 17:3-18
  37. 1 2 Article on "Antichrist" from Smith and Fuller, A Dictionary of the Bible, 1893, p. 147
  38. ↑ Daniel 7:8
  39. ↑ Oberman, Heiko Augustinus (1 January 1994). "The Impact of the Reformation: Essays". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing – via Google Books.
  40. ↑ Luther's Last Battles: Politics And Polemics 1531-46 By Mark U. Edwards, Jr. Fortress Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8006-3735-4
  41. ↑ HIC OSCULA PEDIBUS PAPAE FIGUNTUR
  42. ↑ "Nicht Bapst: nicht schreck uns mit deim ban, Und sey nicht so zorniger man. Wir thun sonst ein gegen wehre, Und zeigen dirs Bel vedere"
  43. ↑ Mark U. Edwards, Jr., Luther's Last Battles: Politics And Polemics 1531-46 (2004), p. 199
  44. 1 2 Johnstone, Nathan (June 2009). "The synagogue of Satan: anti-Catholicism, false doctrine and the construction of contrariety". The Devil and Demonism in Early Modern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–59. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511495847.002.
  45. 1 2 Joseph A. Burgess; Jeffrey Gros, eds. (1989). Building Unity. New York: Paulist Press. p. 140. ISBN 0-8091-3040-8.
  46. ↑ Froom 1948, pp. 244–45: "The reformers were unanimous in its acceptance. And it was this interpretation of prophecy that lent emphasis to their reformatory action. It led them to protest against Rome with extraordinary strength and undaunted courage. [...] This was the rallying point and the battle cry that made the Reformation unconquerable."
  47. ↑ Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 32, in Ante-Nic. Fath. I:210.
  48. ↑ Against Heresies, III: 7:2, in Ante-Nic. Fath. Ib., V:30:3-4.
  49. ↑ Against Marcion, V:16, in Ante-Nic. Fath. III:463f.
  50. ↑ Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, chs. 25 to 63, in Ante-Nic. Fath. V:209-18.
  51. ↑ Fragments from Commentaries, 2:1-3, in Ante-Nic. Fath. V:178.
  52. ↑ The Deposition of Arius, paras. 2 & 4, in Nic. & Post-Nic. Fath., 2nd Ser., IV:69.
  53. ↑ Clarke, Adam. Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 596.
  54. ↑ Harris, Marvin. Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches. p. 196.
  55. ↑ "Smalcald Articles - Book of Concord".
  56. ↑ Philip Melanchthon, Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (full text) in the Triglot translation of the Book of Concord.
  57. ↑ Archived copy at the Library of Congress (May 8, 2009).
  58. ↑ "UMC.org : the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church".
  59. ↑ Smalcald Articles, II.
  60. ↑ Martin Luther, First Principles, pp. 196–197.
  61. ↑ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 3, p. 149.
  62. ↑ John Knox, The History of the Reformation in Scotland, p. 65.
  63. ↑ Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6–7.
  64. ↑ John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p. 216.
  65. ↑ Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, p. 52.
  66. ↑ Principle Works of Zwingli, Vol. 7, p. 135.
  67. ↑ Tyndale, William, Parable of the Wicked Mammon, c. 1526, (facsimile copy of later printing, no ISBN number, Benediction Classics, 2008) at pages 4-5.
  68. ↑ "Tyndale's Doctrine of Antichrist and His Translation of 2 Thessalonians 2", R. Davis, New Matthew Bible Project; a shorter version of this article was also published in the Tyndale Society Journal No. 36, Spring 2009, under the title Tyndale, the Church, and the Doctrine of Antichrist).
  69. 1 2 3
  70. 1 2 Kertzer, David I. (2014). The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe. New York City: Random House. pp. 196–198. ISBN 978-0-8129-9346-2.
  71. 1 2 Giordano, Alberto; Holian, Anna (2018). "The Holocaust in Italy". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 15 August 2018. In 1938, the Italian Fascist regime under Benito Mussolini enacted a series of racial laws that placed multiple restrictions on the country's Jewish population. At the time the laws were enacted, it is estimated that about 46,000 Jews lived in Italy, of whom about 9,000 were foreign born and thus subject to further restrictions such as residence requirements. [...] Estimates suggest that between September 1943 and March 1945, about 10,000 Jews were deported. The vast majority perished, principally at Auschwitz.
  72. 1 2 Pollard, John F. (2014). The Vatican and Italian Fascism, 1929-32: A Study in Conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 109–111. ISBN 978-0-521-26870-7.
  73. 1 2 Zanini, Paolo (2015). "Twenty years of persecution of Pentecostalism in Italy: 1935-1955". Journal of Modern Italian Studies. Taylor & Francis. 20 (5): 686–707. doi:10.1080/1354571X.2015.1096522.
  74. 1 2 3 "Risveglio Pentecostale" (in Italian). Assemblies of God in Italy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  75. 1 2 "Doctrinal Statements: Antichrist". Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018. We reject the idea that the teaching that the Papacy is the Antichrist rests on a merely human interpretation of history or is an open question. We hold rather that this teaching rests on the revelation of God in Scripture which finds its fulfillment in history. The Holy Spirit reveals this fulfillment to the eyes of faith (cf. The Abiding Word, Vol. 2, p. 764). Since Scripture teaches that the Antichrist would be revealed and gives the marks by which the Antichrist is to be recognized (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8), and since this prophecy has been clearly fulfilled in the history and development of the Roman Papacy, it is the Scripture which reveals that the Papacy is the Antichrist.
  76. ↑ Nolting, Paul F., The Antichrist (part 1)
  77. ↑ A Brief Statement of our Doctrinal Position, 1932
  78. ↑ 666 Truth .
  79. ↑ Bacchiocchi, Samuele (6 July 2002), "Islam and The Papacy in Prophecy", Endtime Issues, Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical perspectives (86) .
  80. ↑ Paulien, Jon; Bacchiocchi, Samuele (17 October 2002), "September 11 and God's Mysterious Mercy", End time issues, Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical perspectives (90) .
  81. ↑ "Reformed", Eschatology, Mountain Retreat .
  82. ↑ "Antichrist Today", Present truth, XVII (2) .
  83. ↑ "Papal Audience". The New York Times. 16 October 1988.
  84. ↑ "Roman Catholic". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  85. ↑ Sheen, Fulton J. (1951). Communism and the Conscience of the West. Country Life Press. p. 17. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  86. ↑ "2015 Fall/Winter". Mother of Our Savior & Refuge of Sinners Publishing, Inc. 2015. p. 2. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  87. ↑ "Peter I, czar of Russia". The Columbia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  88. ↑ Korihor is directly referred to in The Book of Mormon as an anti-Christ (Alma 30:6)
  89. ↑ LDS, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Bible Dictionary: Antichrist". Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
  90. ↑ Levillain, Philippe (2002). The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. 2. Psychology Press. p. 832. ISBN 9780415922302. Retrieved 2015-07-17. [Pope John II] received from Justinian a letter dated 6 June 533 [...]. In his letter, Justinian proclaimed that the Holy See is the leader of all the holy churches and confirmed the need for all churches to join together with Rome [...].
  91. ↑ "Articles - White Horse Media". White Horse Media.
  92. ↑ White, Ellen G. (1999) [1888]. "Enmity Between Man and Satan". The Great Controversy: Between Christ and Satan. The Ellen G. White Estate. p. 581. ISBN 0-8163-1923-5. Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2006-06-06.
  93. ↑ Ian Hall, The international thought of Martin Wight, palgrave Mcmillan, 2006, p37
  94. ↑ Schink, W.F. "The Scriptural Doctrine of the Antichrist." Our Great Heritage: Vol. 3 Ed. Lange, Lyle and Albrecht, Jerome G. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1991. p. 572.
  95. 1 2 Net Bible: Man of sin Archived July 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  96. ↑ St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on II Thess., Nicene-Post Nicene Fathers
  97. ↑ See footnotes in Revelation 7 and 13 in the Scofield Reference Bible, 1917
  98. ↑ Bell, Rob; Golden, Don Jesus Wants to Save Christians 2008.
  99. ↑ G. W. Lorein (2003). The Antichrist Theme in the Intertestamental Period. p. 31. "Deuteronomy 13:1–6.... The functional equation of the religious aspect of the Beast, of the False Prophet and of the Antichrist in the book of Revelation is already being prepared here. There are also remarkable links with the Antichrist passage in the First Epistle of John.172 b."
  100. ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia: Armilus:
  101. ↑ Sahih Muslim, 41:7023
  102. ↑ Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Altamira Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-7591-0190-6.
  103. ↑ Valentine, Simon (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya jamaʻat: history, belief, practice. Columbia University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8.
  104. 1 2 Muhammad Ali. (1992) The Antichrist and Gog and Magog, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman-i Ishāʿat-i Islām
  105. ↑ Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, (2005), The Essence of Islam, Vol. III, Tilford: Islam International, p.279-93
  106. 1 2 Wessels, Anton (2013). The Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: Three Books, Two Cities, One Tale. Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 214–15. ISBN 978-0-8028-6908-1.
  107. ↑ Malik Ghulam Farid, et al. (1988) Al-Anbiya, The Holy Quran with English Translation and Commentary Vol. IV, pp.1718–20, Tilford: Islam International
  108. ↑ Islam and Communism
  109. ↑ 'Abdu'l-Baha, Abbas Effendi. "Some Answered Questions". bahai.org. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  110. 1 2 card. G. Biffi. "Russia Will Punish the World – 3rd Secret of Fatima Revealed". Gloria.tv – via radiovaticana.org. The cardinal speaks often on the theme of the Antichrist. The Times of London reported in 2004 that the Cardinal described the Antichrist as “walking among us”.
  111. ↑ J. Pronechen (Feb 24, 2017). "Vladimir Soloviev, the Mystic Admired by Popes". ncregister.com. Archived from the original on Mar 2, 2017. Retrieved Sep 5, 2018.

Bibliography

  • Foxe, John (1583). The Acts and Monuments, Book II. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  • Jerome (1893) [347-420]. "Letter to Pope Damasus". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series. VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. p. 19. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  • Jerome (1893b) [347-420]. "The Dialogue against the Luciferians". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series. VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. p. 334. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  • Jerome (1893c) [347-420]. "Against the Pelagians, Book I". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series. VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. p. 449. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  • Jerome (1893d) [347-420]. "Letter to Ageruchia". In Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series. VI. Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company. pp. 236–7. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
  • Jerome (1958) [347-420]. Archer, Gleason L., ed. Jerome's Commentary of Daniel (Translation). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  • McGinn, Bernard (1994). Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination With Evil. New York: HarperCollins.
  • Cabinet, Kristofer Widholm and Bernard McGinn (2001). "Antichrist: An Interview with Bernard McGinn". Cabinet Magazine. Issue 5 Evil Winter. Cabinet Magazine.
  • Origen (1872) [185–254]. "Writings of Origen, vol 2". In Roberts, Rev. Alexander. Ante-Nicene Christian Library [Writings of the Fathers]. XXIII. James Donaldson. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. pp. 385–8. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  • Schaff, Philip; Schley Schaff, David (1885). History of the Christian Church. Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 2009-01-18.

Further reading

  • Cohn, Norman (1970). The Pursuit of the Millennium (Rev. and expanded. ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195004564.
  • Hazlitt, William (1778-1830) Translator (2007). Martin Luther on The Antichrist. Liskeard: Diggory. ISBN 9781846858048.
  • Lindsey, Hal; Carole C. Carlson (1970). The Late, Great Planet Earth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310277712.
  • Miceli, Vincent P. (1981). The Antichrist. Harrison, New York: Roman Catholic Books. ISBN 9780912141022.
  • Schneemelcher, Wilhelm; Wilson, Robert McLachlan (trans.) (2003). New Testament Apocrypha: Writings relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and related subjects, Vol. 2 (sixth German edition 1989, 1992, 2003 ed.). [S.l.]: Westminster John Knox. ISBN 9780664227227.
  • Of Antichrist and His Ruin (1692) by John Bunyan. Online as part of the Acacia John Bunyan Online Library.
  • Lerner, Robert E. (22 March 2007). "Antichrist". Encyclopædia Britannica (online ed.).
  • Irenaeus, Trans. by Alexander Roberts and William Rambaut. "Against Heresies: Book V: Chapter 25". Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.: Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
  •  Ginzberg, Louis (1901–1906). "Antichrist". In Singer, Isidore; et al. Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
  • Lutheran Scholarly Works on the Antichrist
  • OrthodoxWiki: Antichrist
  • Texts on Wikisource:
    • Davidson, Samuel (1878). "Antichrist". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (9th ed.). pp. 124–127.
    • Bousset, Wilhelm (1911). "Antichrist". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). pp. 121–123.
    • Maas, Anthony John (1907). "Antichrist". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1.
    • "Antichrist". Easton's Bible Dictionary. 1897.
    • "Antichrist". Encyclopaedia Biblica. 1. 1899.
    • Nietzsche, Friedrich (2006) [1918]. The Antichrist: Curse on Christianity. Translated by Mencken, Henry Louis.
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