Who or what is the anti-Christ? We find in Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary that the name means: "An Adversary to Christ". The Strong’s Concordance says: "an opponent of the Messiah"

Here are the texts that refer to the antichrist:

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. 1 John 2:18

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22

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; and even now already is it in the world. 1 John 4:3

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. 2 John 1:7

With these four texts we can learn a few key things about what the antichrist is. Let us take a look at each one individually and see if we can find out who or what it is.

Our first text is 1 John 2:18:

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. 1 John 2:18

It tells us two important things. First, that there are many that were adversarys or opponants of Christ back then in the days that this book of the Bible was written. Second, we can see that it is something that will be in "the last time". So we can see that there were antichrists in the days of the apostles and there will be opponants to Christ in the end.

The second text is 1 John 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. 1 John 2:22

What we find here first is that the antichrist is a liar. Second, he denies that Jesus is the Christ. Third, he denies our heavenly Father AND the Son. Since we know what a liar is let us move on to what it means to deny that Jesus is the Christ.

What does it mean to be the Christ? Young’s Analytical Concordance says this about what the Christ is: "The official appellation of the long promised and long expected Saviour, denoting his kingly authority and mediatorial position as the "Servant of the Lord." ". So to be antichrist would be to deny Jesus as Saviour, King and mediator. Is there a religious system today that denies Jesus as Saviour, King and mediator? If another entity is put up in place of Christ and we are told that this is the one that will save us or that we should turn to this person in order to speak to God then they would have the spirit of the antichrist.

How does someone deny the Father and the Son? Here are some texts that give us a clue to this question:

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Proverbs 30:9

They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Titus 1:16

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Matthew 26:34

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 2 Tim. 2:12

The word in the Old Testament that is translated "deny" is kachash, which according to Strongs concordance means: "to be untrue, in word (to lie, feign, disown) or deed (to disappoint, fail, cringe) :- deceive, deny, dissemble, fail, deal falsely, be found liars, (be-) lie, lying, submit selves. Here other places where this word is used:

In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Isaiah 59:13

They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: Jeremiah 5:12

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Hosea 4:2

From this we can see that it is to lie about God, departing from God, being abominable and disobediant, claiming we don’t know God, speaking oppression and revolt being unwilling to suffer for Christ.

Our third text is:

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; and even now already is it in the world. 1 John 4:3

This text states that their is a spirit of antichrist. What is the spirit of antichrist? Stong's gives this as part of the definition for this spirit: "vital principle, mental disposition, etc." So if, in priciple, someone denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh they have the spirit of antichrist.

Now what does it mean to deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh?

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; Romans 1:3

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 1 Cor. 15:39

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Tim. 3:16

But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:...But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:6-7 &9-17

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 1 Peter 4:1

What I see here is that Christ took on humanity or human flesh. He was made like us, though He was without sin. He was a decendant of Abraham. Fully human yet fully God. That is why he is called the "Son of God" as well as the "Son of Man". So to deny that he came in the flesh would be to deny the human aspect of Christ’s person. He was in the flesh but did not allow the fleshly lusts to rule.

So to deny that he came in the flesh would be to deny his human geneology. It would be to say that he was totally divine and had no human element. Since Mary was the one that provided that human element it would follow that she would be considered divine or sinless.

Here is the fourth text:

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. 2 John 1:7

This text again speaks of the fact that Christ came in the flesh. Since this point is again addressed it would be well to look at it closely. Here it says that those who do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh are decievers and antichrist.

So collectively we have a definition of the antichrist---they lie about God, they deny that Jesus came in the flesh, they deceive. To be an antichrist is to have a vital principle or mental disposition to deny God the Father and the Son by word or action.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article the name means that they are an adversary of Christ or an opponant of the Messiah. Now how does one behave when they are an opponant of the Messiah? How does one behave if they are an adversary of Christ? They would do what they could to countrdict his teachings, don’t you think? They would fight against the people that followed Christ. So if we take a look at what Christ taught we might get an even better clue as to what the antichrist is like. What spirit would actuate someone that had the spirit of the antichrist?

If someone is anti-abortion they are against abortion and they will do what they can to prevent it from happening. If someone is anti-drugs they do what they can to prevent the use of drugs and to eliminate them from society. So with an antichrist they will try to counter everything that Christ taught. Let us take each one of the above texts and find out what would be the advasarial position of each.

What were some of Christ’s teachings that we see being denied? Here are a few of them and the corresponding text for us to consider:

They would teach that man doesn’t need every word of God (Matt. 4:4), that it is okay to worship and serve something or someone besides the Lord our God (Matt. 4:10, Luke 4:8), that repentance isn’t necessary and that the kingdom of God is not at hand (Matt. 4:17), that the proud would inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5), that Christ came to destroy the law or didn’t fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17), they will brake the commandments and teach others to do so (Matt. 5:19), they will teach that lusting after a woman (or man) is okay (Matt. 5:28), they will say that it is okay to be selfish and "fight for your rights"(Matt. 5:40-41), they will say that God doesn’t expect us to be perfect (Matt. 5:48), they will pray standing in the synagoge and to be seen of men and with vain repetition (Matt. 6:5 & 7), they will not be doers of what Jesus says (Matt. 7:24, Luke 6:49), they will not seek the rest God can give (Matt. 11:28) nor will they view Him as Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8), they will speak evil and think evil (Matt. 12:35), they may teach that there is no final judgement of the wicked (Matt. 13:49-50), they will put their traditions above what the Bible teaches (Matt. 15:8-9), they will not deny self (Matt. 16:24) or become as humble children (Matt. 18:3), they will deny that Christ came to save the lost (Matt. 18:11), they will treat marriage and divorce lightly (Matt. 19:9) and may tell you that the rich are Gods chosen and favored people (Matt. 19:23, Luke 6:24, Luke 12:15 Luke 18:25), they will say that it is easy to make it to heaven or that most people will make it (Matt. 22:14, Luke 13:24), they will want to be called father or Master and demand respect from those that are their brothers , they will not take the role of servant like Christ did (Matt. 23:8-11,Mark 9:35, Luke 14:11, Luke 18:14), they will shut up heaven from the people and devour widows houses and make long prayers (Matt. 23:13-14), they will look very pious but will be corrupt within (Matt. 23:27-28), they will tell you not to watch for Christ’s return or lead astray about how he will come (Matt. 25:13), they will deminish the importance of caring for others including our enemies (Matt. 25:45, Luke 6:35, Luke 10:37), they will try to tell you that Jesus doesn’t have all power and will try to distort the importance of teaching the people to do what Jesus has commanded (Matt. 28:18-20), They will try to say that Christ doesn’t have power to forgive sin but that job belongs to someone else (Mark 2:10), they will say that the seventh day Sabbath is not made for man (Mark 2:27-28), they will deny that those that do God’s will belong to Christ (Mark 3:35), they will honor God with their lips and in vain worship Him with their traditions (Mark 7:6-8, Luke 6:46), they will have some other way of casting out devils other than prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29), they will attempt to get to heaven without denying themselves and giving up their wealth (Mark 10:21, Luke 9:23), they will exercise lordship over the people (Mark 10:42-45, Luke 6:40), they will be unforgiving (Mark 11:26), they will promote other lords and not teach love toward our fellow man and obediance to God (Mark 12:29-31, John 15:12-13), they may wear long clothing and seek the honors of men (Mark 12:38-40, Luke 20:46), they will try to decieve you (Mark 13:5-6), they will try to make you think that Jesus isn’t coming in the way he said he would (Mark 13:26), they will distort the doctrine of believing and being baptized (Mark 16:16), they will diminish the need for repentance (Luke 5:32), they will speak evil of good people (Luke 6:31), they will not be doing the Lords will when he returns (Luke 12:43), they will say that the law has failed (Luke 16:17), they will tell you that what Christ taught is of little importance (Luke 21:33), they will tell you that Christ is unloving or that there are other was to be saved other than through Chirst (John 3:17), they will say that miracles are proof of who has the truth (John 4:48), they will promote other ways to come to Christ (John 6:44, John 10:9), they will say that there is another light other than Christ for the world (John 8:12), they will say that you need not continue in the truth (John 8:31-32), they will claim to be able to take away your heavenly reward (John 10:29), they would not humble themselves as Christ did to wash another persons feet (John 13:13-16), they would say that heaven is not the way Chirst discribed it (John 14:2-4), they will claim that there are other ways to come to God other than through Christ (John 14:6), they will say that you need something more than to just ask God in the name of Christ for anything (John 14:13-14) and that if you love God you don’t have to do what he asks (John 14:15 & 23-24), they will try to make you think that God the Father doesn’t love you (John 16:27), they will tell you that Jesus is going to set up an earthly kingdom (John 18:36).