[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World whiteboard.]

What Does the Bible Say About the Antichrist?

The Antichrist will deceive millions with these three teachings. You need to know what they are.

These teachings will be so pervasive and enticing, the majority of Christians will be misled.

Here they are straight from the pages of your Bible.

In the first century, the Apostle John was already fighting against many antichrists and their teachings, as we discussed in a previous video. From his letters, we learn three doctrines of the Antichrist we need to watch for.

1. Antichrist False Teaching: “Jesus Did Not Come in the Flesh”

The first teaching of the Antichrist is stated in 1 John 4:1-3. It says:

Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist (1 John 4:3).

Or put in modern terms, the Antichrist will teach that:

1. Christ was not REALLY fully human, like us.

To combat this false teaching John wrote:

We have seen [Him] with our eyes… we have looked upon [Him], and our hands have handled [Him]… (1 John 1:1).

John was saying, “We know better than that! We saw Him, we were there with Him. We physically touched Him. We know for a fact He was fully human like us. Don’t be deceived.”

Jesus was a real, physical human being, but He was also unique because He had God’s Spirit “without measure” (John 3:34).

And as Matthew 1:23 points out, He was “God with us,” meaning He was the One who had been with the Father from eternity (John 1:14).

But Philippians 2:6–8 shows He did NOT hold on to His God level of existence, but instead, “emptied Himself” and became a man, like us.

Being fully human, yet using the full strength of the Holy Spirit, He learned to fight, resist, and overcome sin in the face of temptation and suffering (Hebrews 5:8; Philippians 2:8).

We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Having fully given up His God level of existence, He became a man, making it possible for Him to choose sin.

Yet He set the perfect example, lived in complete obedience, and showed us HOW to overcome sin.

Jesus showed it is possible, which is why we are exhorted throughout scripture to also overcome sin and live in obedience to God’s commandments.

2. Antichrist False Teaching: “Don’t Keep God’s Law” (Lawlessness)

And this brings us to the second Antichrist teaching, that:

2. We do not need to keep the commandments of God.

To combat this false idea, the Apostle John explained that Christians must strive to keep the commandments in order to live a life pleasing to God.

Right after explaining that he and the other apostles knew for a fact that Jesus was fully human, John explains how a person can be sure they know God. He said:

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3–4).

Continuing to fight this false teaching, in 1 John 5:3 he says:

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

And in chapter 3 he explains that sin is the breaking of the laws of God, and that Christians must live a life of obedience (1 John 3:4–10).

The Apostle Paul also talked about the antichrist, calling him the “lawless one,” that is, one without law, specifically God’s laws. He said:

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:8–9).

As we saw in a previous video, the antichrist will appear righteous—but will be far from it. It will seem like He’s pointing the world to God, but will actually point people away from keeping all 10 Commandments.

Jesus warned us:

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).

So the second teaching of the antichrist that John specifically addresses is that we do not need to keep the commandments of God.

3. Antichrist False Teaching: “Jesus Christ Does Not Abide in You”

The third teaching of the antichrist is:

3. Jesus Christ is not currently coming or living in the flesh.

2 John 7 says:

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

This time instead of saying Jesus has come in the flesh in the past, John says something about the present—that Jesus is still coming in the flesh today—present tense.

So how does He live in the flesh now?

The answer is Christ lives in repentant, forgiven, and obedient Christians through the Holy Spirit.

And He lives His same obedient life in them that He lived 2,000 years ago, giving them the strength to fight and overcome sin, just as He did.

1 John 3:24 says:

He who keeps His commandments abides in Him [that is Christ], and He [Christ] in him [the Christian].

Through the Holy Spirit, Christ lives within truly converted Christians, guiding them, inspiring them and empowering them to keep the commandments and live God’s way of life.

He has been through the struggles, the temptations, and the sufferings of the flesh, and He overcame. And:

Being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

Paul says (in Galatians 2:20):

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by [the] faith [of] the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

While the only way a Christian can be justified is by the blood of Jesus Christ, he or she must also begin to live a life of obedience to God’s laws and overcome sin. And it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christians can overcome sin, by allowing Christ to live His life in them through that Spirit.

However, the antichrist does not teach that Jesus does this in the lives of Christians today. The antichrist doctrines all point toward a false way of worshiping Jesus, that Jesus condemned.

He said:

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22–23).

So do not be taken by surprise.

Watch out for these three doctrines, and remember Jesus’ simple instructions.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

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The Book of Revelation warns of a future, powerful false prophet… the Antichrist…

The Antichrist will be so deceptive, he’ll not only become the unquestioned leader of Mainstream Christianity, he’ll even sway non-christians and atheists. Speaking of this enormous, deceptive power, Jesus warned, "false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). In other words, it's not just the unsuspecting masses that will be deceived. He's saying, even Christians who faithfully obey God's word will be at risk. So, how can we identify this persuasive religious leader and avoid his deceptive influence?

Let’s see what the Bible says about the Antichrist...

In this video, we’ll review two major points about WHO the Antichrist is, and in a future video, we’ll examine a key doctrine of the Antichrist.  But before we get to our first point, let's examine some definitions. The word “Antichrist” simply means “against, or opposed to Christ.” It can also mean “instead of Christ,” or “a false Christ” [Unger’s Bible Dictionary], and this is really the context in which it’s used in the Bible. Now, before we discuss the end-time Antichrist that most of us think of, we’ll need to understand point number 1.

There is not only one antichrist... there have been, and are, many antichrists.

1 John 2:18 says, “even now many antichrists have come…” In chapter 4 verse 3, the Apostle John says, “the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming… is now already in the world” (1 John 4:3). And in verse 1 of chapter 4, we see the context of these comments, when he warned the Church, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” So, we see even in the first century there were already “many antichrists” or “many false prophets," and the spirit of the antichrist was already at work.

The Apostle Paul expressed concern about the same problem—false ministers claiming to be teachers of Christ, but not teaching what He taught. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:4, "For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached... or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! He says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ" (2 Cor. 11:13). Again, he's warning that these men appear to be true ministers of Jesus, but the doctrine they teach is different from that of the church Jesus established. Paul continues, "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness..." (2 Cor. 11:14-15). The look holy... and they sound holy... But they are not!

Jesus also cautioned of those who claim His name but do not follow His teachings. "Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" (Matt. 7:22-23). And in another place, He said, "why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). In His famous Matthew 24 prophecy of what would happen in the years before His return, He said, "false christs and false prophets will rise" (Matt. 24:24) and "many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many" (Matt. 24:5).

So, point number one is:  There are many antichrists; there have been since the first century, and there will continue to be through the end of the age.

Now, point 2.

There will be one exceptionally powerful Antichrist in the years before Christ returns.

John said, “you have heard that the Antichrist is coming” (1 John 2:18), speaking of this end-time figure. This Antichrist was actually prophesied in the book of Daniel. Recording the imagery of his vision about the empires and major religious system that would exist the end of the age, Daniel writes of this false prophet, “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25). In other words, this false religious leader will speak blasphemous, “pompous” words against God and will persecute true followers of God. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul warns about this same character. He explains that, prior to the return of Jesus, “the man of sin” or the “son of perdition” must come first. He said this man “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4).

This man will glorify himself as God, and convince billions of people to follow him. How will he persuade them? Paul warned, he’ll do it “according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception…” (2 Thess. 2:9-10). In Revelation 13, John recorded his vision of a beast representing the Antichrist. This beast looked like a lamb, but “spoke like a dragon.” That is, his appearance was Christ-like, but his words did not reflect Christ’s teachings. He said that this false prophet “performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted...” (Rev 13:13-14)

So, we see the Bible shows the end-time Antichrist will be a powerful religious leader who teaches false Christian doctrines, will eventually claim to be God, and will perform great signs and wonders. This man will deceive billions of people— Christians and non-Christians alike. At the same time, we see there are, and have been, many antichrists, or false ministers. These ministers preach Christ and they look and sound righteous but teach doctrines different from those Jesus and the Apostles taught. And many will continue to be deceived by these influential false teachers. But the end-time Antichrist will be uniquely powerful and deceptive.

So, how can a person avoid being influenced by the spirit of Antichrist? We must love the Truth. Knowing, loving, and obeying the Truth, while accepting that Jesus came to this earth in the flesh and bled and died to cover our sins, we can be made clean before God, be a part of His kingdom, and escape the influence of what may well be the greatest deceiver in the history of the world.