Who is the Anti-christ / Man of Sin?

This is a very hot topic in Christian conversation around the world. We hear opinions on who or what he or they were, regularly in sermons, movies and books. According to an article by Todd Strandberg entitled “The Antichrist Have you seen this man” Some of the candidates are Antiochus Epiphanes, Roman Emperor Nero, The Pope, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, (you knew that one would be in there) Joseph Stalin, Francisco Franco, John F. Kennedy, (didn’t see that one coming did you) Henry Kissinger, Ayatollah Khomeini, etc. etc. finally ending for the time being in Barack Obama. Of these the Pope and Barack Husain Obama seem to get the most votes. John Hagee recently said in an internet article that the Antichrist would be a global economic czar put in after a worldwide economic crash. One theory is that this anti-christ will start the conflict that ends man’s existence on planet earth. There are a lot of possible variations’ to that storyline, but I think you get the idea.

There seems to be a lot of speculation so let’s check the facts by going to the Bible. The anti-christ shows up by name only four times in the Bible and only in first and second John. If someone wanted to say the antichrist was the same as some other person mentioned in the Bible they would need to show a parallel with what John said about the man of sin. So what did John actually say? First, the word in Greek for anti-christ is a pretty close parallel to what we see in English. Broken down, it’s “anti” or “against” Christ or Jesus Christ. So let’s look at those scriptures.

1 John 2:18: Little children, it is the last time: (you can see that John was talking in what he considered the last time or hour) and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; (antichrist is many people not just one) whereby we know that it is the last time.

John says that when antichrist is, that is the last time or hour is a more accurate translation of the word “time” here.

1John 2:22: Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (To qualify as an antichrist you must deny God and or Jesus Christ, thus making you a antichrist)

1John 4:3: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; (To deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh makes you antichrist) even now already is it in the world. (John believes that the antichrists were present in his time.)

2 John 1:7: For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (If anyone denied that Jesus Christ the messiah had come and dwelt in the same world as John did, they would be one of the many antichrists.)

First John chapter 2 verse 18 has a follow up verse.
1 John 2:19: They went out from us, (they were among us and then left us) but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: (so obviously they did not continue) but that they might be made manifest that they were not all or any of us. (so whoever these antichrists were they, were among the early Christians, but left out from among them showing that they were not real Christians).
Now who meets this criteria that we have just read about in John? Let’s look at some related scriptures.

The Man of Sin and Bondage| What is the Relationship?

Galatians 4:9: But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? (someone is turning back to be in bondage).

So what is this bondage?
Galations 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, (free from what?) and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
5:2: Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. So being circumcised is part of this bondage).

Hebrews 2:15: And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (who was afraid of death?).

2:16: For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. (so some of the seed of Abraham or the members of the old covenant church were afraid of death and turned back to bondage).

Romans 8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
8:3: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (so the law was weak in that fleshly men could not keep it, so that is why the apostles called it bondage).

Hebrews 6:4: For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, G530 and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (Christians)
6:5: And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world (or age) to come,
6:6: If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (So if a Jew turned back after being a Christian and tasting the gifts of the spirit, they were lost.)

The Man of Sin| A Review of Our Findings

Let’s review what we have found in the Bible about the anti-christ.
1 To qualify as an anti-christ, you must deny God and or Jesus Christ.
2 There are many anti-christs not just one.
3 If they denied that Jesus Christ the messiah had come and dwelt in the same world (kosmos) as John, they would be one of the many anti-christs
4 When the anti-christs are, that is the last hour.
5 John believed that the anti-christs were present in his time.
6 And whoever these anti-christs were, they were among the first Christians but returned to bondage of the Law, showing that they were not one of the true believers.
7 The law was weak in that fleshly men could not keep it, so that is why the apostles called it bondage.
8 The converted Jews were the ones that turned back to bondage or the Law.
9 So when Jews turned back after being Christians and tasting the gifts of the spirit, they were the anti-christs and were lost.

So early Christians had some of their congregation (or church) that turned back to the law and in doing so, became the anti-christs. This turning back of followers of Jesus Christ was what John was talking about in First and Second John. They turned back to the Law, leaving Jesus Christ and His victory. All this other speculation on the man of sin is really missing the mark. John was referring to early Christians who turned back to the Mosaic Covenant of laws and sacrifices. That’s who an anti-christ was. The ones that turned back became the enemies of Jesus Christ and this is the division that Jesus spoke of.

This next reading is a little long so bear with me as it is important.
Matthew 10:32: Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
10:33: But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
10:34: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
10:35: For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
10:36: And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
10:37: He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Many times the anti-christs were of Christian’s own households. The anti-christs were fathers, daughters, mothers, mother in laws, etc.. This must have been a hard time to be a Christian. When Jesus said to love your enemy, was he talking to early Christians about their own families?

Let’s review what we have found out about the anti-christ one more time.
1 To qualify as an anti-christ, you must deny God and or Jesus Christ.
2 There are many anti-christs not just one.
3 If they denied that Jesus Christ the messiah had come and dwelt in the same world (kosmos) as John, they would be one of the many anti-christs
4 When the anti-christs are, that is the last hour.
5 John believed that the man of sin (Plural)  were present in his time.
6 And whoever these anti-christs were, they were among the first Christians but returned to bondage of the Law, showing that they were not one of the true believers.
7 The law was weak in that fleshly men could not keep it, so that is why the apostles called it bondage.
8 The converted Jews were the ones that turned back to bondage or the Law.
9 So when Jews turned back after being Christians and tasting the gifts of the spirit, they were the anti-christs and were lost.
10 The families of early Christians were often the anti-christs and Jesus warned that they would be the enemy.

So when you hear other stories about the anti-christ, know that these stories are not what the Bible said about the man of sin. Other “bad guys” are mentioned in the Bible but they cannot be proved to be any relation to the man of sin.

It’s like Paul said, in Gal 4:16: “Am I your enemy, because I tell you the truth?”