Antichrist¶
The prophecied person and spirit of antichrist is best understood in the context of Christ's triumph over the demons and over the principalities and powers (fallen angels). Christ's kingdom ended the authority of those fallen spirits, and as Christ rules in the midst of His enemies, those enemies tempt and torment mankind, acting as a kind of foil to the kingdom of God -- this inevitably leads to the spirit of antichrist. The antichrist is the only move the devil can play after his defeat.
Bind the strong man¶
Mark 3:27
No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Prior to Christ, man was under complete subjugation and dominion of Satan, as well death and sin. Satan tempted Christ with the worldly kingdoms, and importantly: they were his to give.
Luke 4:5-7
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
Even the Israelites at that time were under the authority of Satan's worldly kingdoms, under Roman rule and throughout the diaspora.
It was in the life of Christ that the kingdom of God became manifest on earth as it is in heaven. This was the defeat of Satan and his angels, decisively. Christ cast out evil spirits, healed the sick, forgave sins, and most importantly, overcame death.
Christ did so as God and as man, the word of God made flesh.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies¶
In the Messianic Age, Christ rules in the midst of His enemies.
Psalms 110:2
The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
And as such, Satan and his legions were cast out from their authority, and like the remaining beasts from the vision of Daniel, their lives were prolonged for a time.
Daniel 12:12
As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
The three remaining beasts in the vision of Daniel were a leopard, a bear, and a lion. And the fourth beast was the serpent, the great dragon. Contrast this with the beast in Revelation 13:
Revelation 13:2
Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
This final beast, hybrid of hybrids, is the prophecied antichrist who will come in the final days before judgment. The spirit of antichrist has been manifest in the world many times, all throughout our history, preparing the way for the kingdom of man.
There shall arise false Christs¶
Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Importantly, the antichrist is the complete antithesis of Christ, both an imitation and His opposite. Christ submits with complete obedience to His father, and offers eternal life in His kingdom. The antichrist submits to no one but himself, and offers lies of a worldly kingdom and only death. This beast is a global totalitarianism, exactly as defined and sought by every generation of globalist "elite", such as the transhumanists seeking to make themselves into gods.
The spirit of antichrist points in the exact opposite direction of Christ. This is but of one many ways to discern.
Lost sheep, Christ returns the lost sheep to the flock. The antichrist will bring the flock to the lost sheep -- a false compassion -- endangering not just the lost sheep, but the entire flock. Attempts to modernize the church, to accept the spirit of the times and bring the church into the spirit of the times, are exactly this pattern.
"it's 2024, we should have lesbian priests"
And when one looks soberly at the innovations on Rome, and the various reformations of protestantism, all of them fit within this antichrist spirit, slowly bringing the flock (the church) away from Christ and to devils.
The man of sin revealed¶
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition
The final antichrist, the person of antichrist, will come not from heaven but from earth. And even God-fearing Christians will be taken in, especially at first.
patristic understanding of the antichrist.
Preaching of the antichrist -- Luca Signorelli
