Spirit of the Antichrist

A quick look through the Scripture will yield at least 4 verses referring to the antichrist directly and more that reference the antichrist indirectly.  However, here are the four verses that can be identified very quickly:

1 John 2:18 NASB
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

1 John 2:22 NASB
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:3 NASB
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

2 John 1:7 NASB
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

1 John 2:22 and 1 John 4:3 indicate clearly that the spirit of the antichrist will deny Yeshua as Messiah and will claim that Yeshua is not from Yahweh.  That sounds pretty clear on the surface.  However, perhaps there is another interesting layer here.  Let’s take a short jog through the scripture real quick.

Let’s look at John 1:1

John 1:1 NASB
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In the Tanach, we are repeatedly told that the words of Yahweh are his teachings, which is the Hebrew word torah. Yah’s teachings are his word.  For instance:

Job 22:22 The Scriptures 1998+
Please accept the Torah from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.

Isaiah 1:10 The Scriptures 1998+
Hear the word of יהוה, you rulers of Seḏom; give ear to the Torah of our Elohim, you people of Amorah!

Now, if we go back to John 1:1 and replace “Word” with Teachings we see the following:

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Teachings, and the Teachings were with God, and the Teachings were God.

Now, if we move on to John 1:14 we see the following:

John 1:14 NASB
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14
And the Teachings became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 is referring to Yeshua.  So, Yeshua is the Word (Teachings) in the flesh.  So, in a nutshell, if the antichrist will deny Yeshua is from Yahweh and will deny that Yeshua is the Messiah.  In other words, the antichrist will deny Yeshua who is the Word (Teachings).

What does this mean?  Well, it’s not a stretch to say that anyone who denies the Teachings of Yahweh, otherwise referred to as the Torah, are acting in the spirit of the antichrist.  The spirit of the antichrist is not merely a denial of Yeshua but also acts more broadly by rejecting the Torah (Law/Law of Moses) of Yahweh.

How many people reject the Torah/Law?  How many people are acting in the spirit of the antichrist?  Frighteningly, this includes a good portion of the Christian Church as we know it today!

Shalom Aleichem!
The H.U.B.