Antichrist

Antichrist , in Christian belief, a person who will represent on earth the powers of evil by opposing the Christ, glorifying himself, and causing many to leave the faith. He will be destroyed by Jesus at the time of the Second Coming. 1 John 2.18-22; 4.3; 2 John 7; and Rev. 13. Similar ideas are expressed in Judaism (e.g., Ezek. 38.1-39.29) and in Zoroastrianism. Christians have often identified enemies of their faith with the Antichrist; e.g., with early Christians it was Nero, with some Protestants the pope.

Antichrist Term loosely referring to the supreme enemy of Christ. It is used in the letters of Saint John to refer to a force that will appear at the end of time. Martin Luther and other leaders of the Reformation applied it to the papacy.

Antichrist. The prince of Christ's enemies. In the NT he is referred to by name only in 1 and 2 Jn. (where he is identified with those who deny the Incarnation), but many see him in the strange beasts of Rev. and in the ‘man of sin’ in 2 Thess. 2: 3–10. Some have connected Antichrist not with a person but with an evil principle; others have seen in Antichrist a reference to some historical person (e.g. Nero).