Who or What Is the Antichrist?
1) Direct Answer
The Antichrist is Satan’s religious spirit that opposes and replaces the Word of Jesus Christ. It began as a spirit working among believers, grows into a churchly system, and will finally be embodied in a man—the “man of sin”—who sits in the temple of God and exalts himself as God.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible says the antichrist is first a spirit: “Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God… this is that spirit of antichrist” (1 John 4:3). “Even now are there many antichrists” (1 John 2:18).
- It denies the true revelation of Jesus Christ: “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).
- It will climax in a person: “That man of sin… who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God… so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). “The mystery of iniquity doth already work” (verse 7), and then it appears “after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (verses 9-10).
- It is religious and blasphemous power: the beast “was given… a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies… and it was given unto him to make war with the saints” (Revelation 13:5-7). Another beast looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon (Revelation 13:11)—religious appearance, satanic voice.
- It speaks great words against God, persecutes saints, and thinks to change times and laws (Daniel 7:8,25).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- “Anti” means against and instead-of. So the Antichrist doesn’t just fight Christ; it takes His place—claiming authority over the Word and over the worship of God.
- Notice where it sits: “in the temple of God.” That shows it operates in the realm of worship. If it were merely political or atheistic, why does Scripture place it inside the temple and describe religious signs and wonders?
- John said it was already working in his day (1 John 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:7). So it began as a spirit in the church, organizing around teachings that deny Jesus Christ as God manifested in flesh and replacing the Scriptures with human creeds. In time it becomes a powerful system, and in the end it is headed by a man who exalts himself.
- God’s safeguard is the love of the truth and the seal of the Holy Spirit. The true Church stays with the plain Word. Any spirit, system, or leader that adds to it, takes from it, or puts a man in Christ’s place is antichrist.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, it’s not the outside world that deceives the elect—it’s a look-alike, so close it would deceive if possible. Stay with the Scripture: Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh, and His Word is final. Anything that denies that revelation or substitutes man’s authority for Christ’s is the Antichrist spirit, and it will culminate in the man of sin exactly as the Bible says.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Daniel 9: The sixfold purpose of Gabriel's visitation
61-0730E §67
...ow, what is another thing that would be known? Look at today at the churches. Here it is. I hope it don't hurt, but I got to tell it. Making... In that day there will be an antichrist rise. Now, remember, when we get in the seals, that antichrist rides right out over those seals. Daniel spoke of it here, the prince that would come. He would be cut off---Jesus would---to make reconciliations for the people. But that prince that would stand up, that would cause the abomination to make desolation, that was Rome throug...
What shall I do with Jesus called Christ?
63-1124M §61
And it's been brought to the place of a decision. And the churches has turned it down. And what have the churches desired? A murderer of the Word; one who takes a system. If the system is contrary to the Word, then it's a murderer to the Word. And they desired a denomination tradition, instead of the true Word being manifested, and proved that it's God amongst the people: by science, through pictures; light, the same angel of the Lord, the pillar of fire; the same one that lived on earth in the body of Jesus Christ...
Seals 3: The First Seal
63-0318 §165
Notice, Nicolaitia, the antichrist teaching, that started in the days of Paul against God's Word-antichrist. Then, he is called again the false prophet, which when the teaching become a man, he was a prophet to the teaching of the hierarchy of the Catholic church. The pope was the prophet to the false word, and that made him a false prophet. The third stage is a beast, a man that's crowned in the last days with every power that pagan Rome ever had, because the seven-headed beast-dragon-was cast out of heaven and co...
Seals 6: The Fourth Seal
63-0321 §35
That little woman at the well, when those scholared priests had said, "Well, that's the devil. He's a fortune-teller. He's just telling those people their fortune. He's a devil." But when that little woman with that predestinated seed... Now, you think that's not right, but Jesus said, "No man can come except my Father draws him, and all the Father has given me, will come." And the antichrist in the last days is going to be able ... that antichrist spirit that we're studying in denominationalism, and proven that de...
The Seal of Antichrist
55-0311 §36
When you believe that, sink it down into your heart; you'll find out something goes to acting in there. When you think that Jesus was just a man, He was more than a man. He was the Divine One. "God was in Him, reconciling the world to Himself," because He came down, and was made kinfolks to us. He had to be kindred. In a few nights I'll preach on the Kinsman Redeemer, and then you'll see that He was kinfolks. God Himself was made kinfolks to the human race in order to take away the sins of the world. The sin anchor...