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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 (1 John 2:18, ESV).
The word “antichrist” is found only in the Apostle John’s epistles (Read 1 John 2:18 [twice], 2:22, 4:3, and 2 John 1:7).
John, as the last living apostle, wrote his epistles (1, 2, and 3) after the epistles of Paul, Peter, James, and Jude. The Antichrist (like today) must have been a hot topic at the end of the first century, as John mentions “antichrist” five times in his epistles. In his writings, he discusses a literal person as the Antichrist (1 John 2:18 and 2:22) and a “spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:3).
He describes both the Antichrist and the “spirit of the antichrist” in similar terms …
- Liar (1 John 2:22)
- Will not confess Jesus is the Christ (1 John 4:3)
- Denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22)
- A deceiver (2 John 1:7)
- Will not confess that Jesus has come in the flesh (2 John 1:7)
John adds a “time” differentiation to his teachings, considering the “last hour” (1 John 2:18-22) to begin then and last until the very end of time. He then explains that the “spirit of the antichrist” will be working deception between the first and second comings of Christ, while the actual person of the Antichrist will come at the end of time. (Read the verses that I’ve listed from 1 and 2 John to see that my comments above contain the exegetical accuracy expected in the OG’s Interruptions.)
Why does the Apostle John write about the Antichrist and the “spirit of the antichrist”? Obviously, our first-century brothers and sisters had many questions about the end of times (and we still do today), but we can rest assured that both the “spirit of antichrist” and the soon-to-be-revealed person named Antichrist are real.
I’ve read books and listened to so-called Bible scholars proclaim that the “Antichrist” and other end-time events are figurative language used in the Bible to describe the battle between good and evil.
Nonsense. Let’s consider that the prophet Daniel describes a “little horn” often identified as the Antichrist (Daniel 7:24-27), that Jesus warns of false Christs (Matthew 24:24), that Paul describes a “man of lawlessness” and “son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). John also describes a “beast” in Revelation 13.
By reviewing church history, many have been nominated as the Antichrist. The early Christians thought it could be Nero, some thought differing Popes in the Catholic church, and many thought it could be the religion of Islam. The 20th century endured many candidates with Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Mao topping the list, and finally Bible believing Christians have accused Kennedy, Reagan, Obama, and Trump.
Obviously, some are good candidates, but others are not!! Yet, because of John’s teachings, we know that the “spirit of the antichrist” has infected many over the past 2000 years, but the actual Antichrist hasn’t been revealed yet.
The big question: Who is the Antichrist? This is Interruption #1684 (Friday, October 17, 2025). Some time next week, I will answer the question …
How will we know the Antichrist?