The Antichrist is a Christian concept based on interpretation of passages in the New Testament , in which the term antichrist occurs five times in 1 John and 2 John, once in plural form [1] and four times in the singular . [2] In some Christian belief systems, Jesus the Messiah will appear in his Second Coming to Earth to face the emergence of the Antichrist figure, who will be the greatest false messiah in Christianity. Just as Christ is the savior and the ideal model for humanity, his opponent in the end time will be a single figure of concentrated evil, according to Bernard McGinn .[3] In Islam, Masih ad-Dajjal (the False messiah in Islam ) is an evil figure (similar to the Christian concept of Antichrist), who will appear to deceive humanity before the second coming of Jesus ,[4] who is called Isa by Arabic-speaking Muslims . Etymology The word antichrist is made up of two roots : αντί ( anti ) + Χριστός ( Khristos). Αντί can mean not only against and opposite of, but also in place of,[5] Χριστός, translated Christ, is Greek for the Hebrew Messiah. Both literally mean Anointed One, and refer to Jesus of Nazareth [6] within Christian, Islamic and Messianic Jewish theology . Christian views New Testament Whether the New Testament contains an individual Antichrist or not is disputed. The five uses of the term antichrist or antichrists in the Epistles of John 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. [7] “ Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. —1 John 2:18 KJV ” “ 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. [8][9] 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: [10] “ 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) ” The Beast from the earth , according to the Book of Revelation and also referred to as the False Prophet , has often been equated with an individual Antichrist [ citation needed ]: “ Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. —Revelation 13:11–17 NRSV (1989) ” “ And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. —Revelation 16:13–14 NRSV (1989) ” “ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. —Revelation 19:19–20 NRSV (1989) ” “ And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. —Revelation 20:10 NRSV (1989) ” Medieval commentators, however, more readily identified the figure of the Beast from the sea as an individual Antichrist.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 16:56:53 +0000
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