Premillennialism is the doctrine that teaches the return of Christ to earth to set up an earthly, theocratic kingdom in which He will reign for a thousand years, sitting on the throne of David.  The many facets of premillennialism are complex and sometimes hard to follow.   Their most popular doctrines center around a supposed rapture that takes place at the end of the church age and just before a seven-year tribulation period.  The tribulation period ends with the battle of Armageddon, at which time the enemies of God are destroyed when Jesus returns to rescue the saved and defeat Satan, casting him into a pit for a thousand years and setting up the kingdom that He really wanted to establish the first time He came but was rebuffed by the unbelieving Jews.

All the trouble that arises during the tribulation period is supposed to be caused by the Antichrist, a future world leader of Roman descent with unparalleled charm, charisma, and peace-making skills.  Most premillennialists believe that whoever this Antichrist is, he has already been born and is probably living in Europe right now and could explode on the scene at any time.

What does the Bible say about the Antichrist?  Is there really such a diabolical figure prophesied about in the Bible who will bring about a one-world government just before (7 years before) the end of time?  Listening to the premillennialists talk, one would conclude that the Bible is full of passages that speak about the Antichrist.  The truth, however, is that there are only four passages in the Bible that use the term antichrist, and all of those passages are found in the epistles of John.  Here are the passages that refer to the subject of antichrist.

I 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.”

I 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.”

I John 4:3 – “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.”

II John 1:7 – “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.”

The first thing that one notices upon investigation of these antichrist passages is that John does not use the term in any kind of eschatological way.  The antichrist is not restricted to the future, from John’s perspective, but was already working in John’s day (1 John 2:18).

The second thing that is clear about the term antichrist is that John was not referring to just one specific person.  First, John speaks of antichrists, suggesting that there were many of them.  Second, in referring to antichrist, John does not use a proper name.  He does not speak of “the Antichrist,” instead, he uses the term antichrist.  John does not use this term to denote a specific person but to identify a false way of thinking, specifically, a false view of Christ.

Whenever studying the epistles of John, it becomes obvious that John is speaking against the false system or doctrine of Gnosticism.  Gnostics were those who believed that salvation was based on a special kind of knowledge (the Greek word for knowledge is gnosis) that only they possessed.  While the doctrinal system of Gnosticism did not develop fully until the second century, there is no doubt that the seeds of Gnosticism were planted in the first century.  Both Paul and John recognized the threat of Gnosticism in their writings.  There were many different doctrinal manifestations of this false doctrine, but John deals with its two most common forms.  There were Cerinthian Gnostics and the Docetic Gnostics.

The Cerinthian Gnostics denied the deity of Christ.  They believed that there was a distinction between Jesus and Christ, concluding that Jesus was just an ordinary man born to Mary and Joseph.  According to the Cerinthians, Christ descended upon Jesus at His baptism and departed from Him just before He was crucified.  The Cerinthian Gnostics denied that Jesus was the Christ (1 John 2:22).

The Docetic Gnostics denied the humanity of Christ.  Most forms of Gnosticism believed in dualism.  They believed that matter is completely evil, and that spirit is inherently good.  Thus, the Docetics denied the possibility of God (spirit) taking on a body (matter).  This form of Gnosticism denied the incarnation of Christ and suggested that the body of Christ was just an illusion.  When Christ was here on earth, He was not really flesh and blood, it just seemed that way.  So, while the Cerinthians denied that Jesus was the Christ, the Docetics denied that Christ was Jesus (1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7).

Both forms of Gnosticism, as well as their advocates, are what John refers to as antichrist.  “Anti” simply means against.  Those denying the deity or humanity of Christ are against or opposed to Christ.  John refers to Gnosticism as a spirit of error (1 John 4:6), and while he was combating a specific false doctrine in his epistles, any spirit of error is antichrist, i.e., against or opposed to Christ.  Anyone who hinders the cause of Christ in any way can be referred to as an antichrist.  All false prophets or false Christs, like Theudas in Acts 5:36 and the Egyptian referred to in Acts 21:38, were antichrists.  Saul of Tarsus, before his conversion to Christ, was an antichrist (Acts 8:3; 9:5; 26:9-10).  Elymas the magician was an antichrist as well (Acts 13:7-11).  It’s no wonder that John said, “Even now are there many antichrists.”

This is the only way that the term antichrist is used in the Bible.  Not one time do we find the term antichrist used as a proper name for one specific person who will someday rule the world as a diabolical dictator.  This is just one of the many teachings of Premillennialism that is false.