How Many Times is “Antichrist” Used in the Bible?
The Antichrist in Bible Passages
The Bible only refers once to the Antichrist who is the diabolical dictator that Bible Prophecy forecasts. The Antichrist is mentioned by John who was one of Jesus’ disciples who wrote the Gospel of John, three of the epistles and the Revelation.
His mention of the Antichrist is as follows in 1John 2:18: “Little children it is the last hour: and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” While John mentions the person of the Antichrist once in the Bible, he goes on to mention Antichrist four more times and this includes one time in the plural. The word Antichrist is used a total of four times in the Bible and Antichrists is used once.
The Antichrist is the Messiah’s adversary. John tells us that Jesus has many adversaries, i.e. Antichrists. He states this within the same verse that he refers to the diabolical leader. The remaining four times that John mentions Antichrist he refers to Antichrist generally as one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. In 1John 2:22, John elaborates on one who is Antichrist as one who “denies the Father and the Son.” In 1John 4:3 John states, “that every spirit that does not confess that Jesus is the Christ has come in the flesh …is the spirit of Antichrist -which they heard was coming-but already is in the world.” In 2 John 1:7, John again repeats, ” that many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh .” He elaborates one last time, ” this is a deceiver and an Antichrist. ”
John speaks of the person of the Antichrist and makes reference to his coming but teaches the believers that anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God has the spirit of Antichrist. John uses the term in reference to the leader who is coming into the world as well as to those who follow in the Antichrist’s footsteps by being adversarial to Jesus Christ.
The Antichrist like all dictators establishes that he is god. He will be opposed to Christians, Jews and all religions. He will especially persecute those who preach the Gospel. John elaborates on the Antichrist by generalizing the spirit of all who oppose the truth of Jesus Christ as belonging to the Antichrist.