126. Who is the Antichrist, and when will he appear?

Who is the Antichrist, and when will he appear? The Antichrist will be a person in whom Satan’s resistance to Christ and His kingdom will culminate. He will be a man, but a man whom Satan will fill to such an extent that he will be Satan incarnate. The Devil always seeks to ape God’s work, and his aping of God’s work will culminate in his aping of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. The Antichrist’s coming will be after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and with all deceit of unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, R.V., margin).

He will appear just previous to the coming of Jesus Christ, and our Lord will consume him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him with the brightness of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8, R.V.).

There are already many antichrists preparing the way for the final and consummate Antichrist (1 John 2:18). Indeed, every one that denieth the Father and the Son is an antichrist, but there seems to be a special preparation for the Antichrist, in whom all the forces of evil shall head up.