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We know remarkably little about who the Antichrist will be and what his arrival on the earth will look like. The very word antichrist only appears in four verses of Scripture, all of them in the Johannine epistles: 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:3, and 2 John 7.
The author of these epistles clearly expects his readers to already have some background knowledge of what kind of creature the Antichrist is supposed to be, since he presents the concept without introduction: “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 Jn 2:18). This fits with what we know about ancient Jewish theology more generally, which included an anti-messianic figure destined to appear in the world during the end times.
1 John 2:18 also reminds us that the name antichrist can be applied to a multitude of individuals. In the Church’s interpretative tradition, therefore, it is usually understood that there will be many lesser antichrists throughout history, that is, many people who deny that Jesus is the Christ (see 1 Jn 2:22) as well as the reality of the incarnation (see 2 Jn 7), and who are therefore guilty of “the spirit of antichrist” (1 Jn 4:3).
Continued below.
stpaulcenter.com
The author of these epistles clearly expects his readers to already have some background knowledge of what kind of creature the Antichrist is supposed to be, since he presents the concept without introduction: “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 Jn 2:18). This fits with what we know about ancient Jewish theology more generally, which included an anti-messianic figure destined to appear in the world during the end times.
1 John 2:18 also reminds us that the name antichrist can be applied to a multitude of individuals. In the Church’s interpretative tradition, therefore, it is usually understood that there will be many lesser antichrists throughout history, that is, many people who deny that Jesus is the Christ (see 1 Jn 2:22) as well as the reality of the incarnation (see 2 Jn 7), and who are therefore guilty of “the spirit of antichrist” (1 Jn 4:3).
Continued below.
What Does A Catholic Reading Of The Bible Tell Us About The Antichrist?
We know remarkably little about who the Antichrist will be and what his arrival on the earth will look like. The very word antichrist only appears in four verses of Scripture, all of them in the Johannine epistles: 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:3, and 2 John 7.
stpaulcenter.com
