I am going to make a bold statement here.
I believe the Antichrist (I John 2:22), (which mean instead of Christ or opposed to Christ in the Greek1), is the most popular title of the most famous tool of Satan, as well as Satan’s last hurrah in his vain attempt to thwart the final outcome of the world (as he is referred to in the the first and second epistles of John) is possibly alive today.
If the Profane and Wicked Prince of Israel (Ezekiel 21:25-27) is a natural born human being, he would have to be alive and ready at a moment’s notice, to perform the role that has been mentioned throughout the bible of the Coming World Leader2 outlined for us in the scriptures. I conceivably picture the Man of Sin (II Thessalonians 2:13) (or as he is referred to in Latin, the ‘Vicar of Christ‘3, which opens up a whole new can of worms), as a type of ‘sleeper agent’ ready to activate at a moment’s notice because the scriptures say Christ will return ‘as a thief in the night’ to those who are unprepared for his coming, as we are told in I Thessalonians 5:2-44. The most popular word for The Enemy (Psalms 55:3) is derived from 1 John chapters 2 & 4. I believe in chapter 2:18-19 where he mentions plural antichrists he is referring to people that learned of Christ but rejected Him or, through the spirit of Satan, pretended to believe and chose to intermingle with them but for the purpose of sowing discord and disinformation about Our Lord. It is a couple of chapters later we find the popular reference to Satan’s man which I think John is using as another title to the Head over many countries (Psalms 110:6) in I John 4:1-35.
Satan doesn’t know what the interval is between the harpazo6 and the beginning of the seventieth week7 is, so Satan has to have his Spoiler (Isaiah 16:4) ready and waiting in the wings to strike at any time. Satan has had to have had this Branch of the terrible ones (Isaiah 25:5) ready throughout every generation since the sixty-nine weeks were fulfilled, if the unclean spirit (Matthew 12:43) is human. For that to happen the Son of Perdition (II Thessalonians 2:13) has to be alive now. This means that Satan has needed to have his Man of the Earth (Psalms 10:18) ready to act when the time comes. Or does he?
I think there is another scenario that we need to consider. There is a possibility that the Man of lawlessness (II Thessalonians 2:13 NIV) will be one of the stars that fell (fallen angels) as we are told in Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. (KJV) and he will just ‘appear’ on the scene. It says a third of the stars (which is a typical idiom for angels) go with Satan. All throughout the bible there have been visitations by angels that spoke, visited and dined with people mentioned in Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (KJV). Why should these visitations be limited to only the ‘good’ angels? Possibly the false teachers and plural antichrists that John mentions could be these fallen angels sent to disrupt and sow discord and confusion as we see in 1 John 2:18-198. This may be a thought that could be worth cultivating and researching.
Is the Antichrist a Jew? After all, The Prince who is to come will enforce (or confirm) the covenant concerning the temple in Jerusalem for seven years9. I could do additional research and bring forth viable arguments both ways and cite Revelations where it speaks of the Adversary (Lamentations 4:11-12) enforcing the covenant with Israel, I could cite Daniel 11:37 that states he will reject the God of his fathers, there are those that put forth articles saying this is a bunch of anti-Semitic rantings, but let’s allow Christ to settle the argument. Christ says in John 5:42-44 about the Jews in the end times that they will receive the Violent Man Psalms 140:110. I believe that Christ is saying the Jews will receive this Idol Shepard (Zechariah 11:16-17) as a false messiah as prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15-2211, so will he be (is he) a Jew? I really have no idea, so I will defer to Christ’s authority on this one (and all of the rest, also).
God Bless,
Jim
1 http://biblehub.com/greek/500.htm
2 http://www.khouse.org/articles/1995/80/ , 9th paragraph
3 http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/666.htm
4 I Thessalonians 5:2-4 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (KJV)
5 I John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and 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, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (NKJV)
6 https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g726
7 http://www.khouse.org/articles/2004/552/
8 1 John 2:18-19 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (KJV)
9 http://biblehub.com/daniel/9-27.htm
10 Psalms 140:1 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that [cometh] from God only? (KJV)
11 Deuteronomy 18:15-22 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well [spoken that] which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (KJV)
How many different names of Satan’s man did I use? 17
How many different titles of the Antichrist in the scriptures? 33 https://www.khouse.org/topical_bible study/antichrist/
jimbussell 