Dispensationalism, which is currently the most popular form of premillennialism, has much to say these days about the antichrist. According to dispensational theologians, the "antichrist" is a man, now living, who will soon rise to the position of a world-wide dictator. In his book, "The Late Great Planet Earth" (Zondervan, 1970), Hal Lindsey asserts that the antichrist whom he styles "the Future Fuhrer," will "come to power just before the return of Christ" (p. 140), and, as Lindsey further says, "we believe that according to all signs, we are in the general time of his coming" (p. 133).
A number of other books, as well as cultic movies, have similarly suggested that a fierce individual, identified in the Bible as "the antichrist," is soon to make his dreadful presence universally felt by launching a program of terror and suffering.
Such a view finds absolutely no support in the Bible. The term "antichrist" is found five times in four New Testament passages - all in John's epistles ( John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7). It is quite significant that Lindsey, in his chapter on the antichrist, never once alludes to these verses (ibid., pp. 87-102)! And the reason is clear: the biblical information simply does not fit his theory.
(1) There is not one specific person denominated "the antichrist;" rather, John plainly says that "many antichrists" have arisen (1 John 2:18; 2 John 7).
(2) The Bible does not affirm that the antichrist is some sinister, prophetic individual who is to appear in the 1980s. There were antichrists in the first century - "even now," says the apostle, "have there arisen many antichrists..." (1 John 2:18; 4:3).
A careful analysis of John's usage of this term reveals that "antichrist" is a general word employed to suggest a spirit of unbelief and rebellion that manifests itself in a variety of ways, both in the past and in the present.
1. Atheism is antichrist, for it denies the existence of the Father and the deity of His Son (1 John 2:22; cf. Luke 10:16).
2. The Docetists, of the late first century, were antichrists in that they denied that Jesus actually became flesh (1 John 4:2,3). If Christ did not become flesh, He did not die for our sins (cf. Hebrews 2:14), and we of all men are most pitiable.
3. The ancient Gnostics were antichrists (as their modern counterparts, the Watchtower Witnesses) in rejecting the deity of the Lord Jesus (cf. John 1:1; 20:28).
4. The old Sabellian sects, together with the so-called "oneness" groups of today, are antichrist, for they refuse to distinguish between "the Father and the Son" (1 John 2:22) as separate persons within the divine Godhead.
5. Those who have usurped the prerogatives of deity by claiming to be divine, or heaven's personal representative, are likewise antichrist. Such characters as "Father Divine," Jim Jones of the people's temple, and the Roman papacy, fall into this category.
6. In the final analysis, any person who deliberately rejects the authority of the Son of God, thus suggesting, as in the parable of the pounds, "...We will not that this man (Christ) reign over us" (Luke 19:14), is of the spirit of antichrist.
An intelligent, systematic approach to the sacred text of the Bible would demolish the sensational, near-hysterical theories of many modern-day sects. May we encourage our religious friends to this end.This item originally appeared in www.greenplain.org/articles/articles.htm; www.ChristianCourier.com
