It's almost comical to see Princes, Presidents, and even computer systems vilified as this prophetic character.
Biblically, the term is only used five times, in 1 and 2 John. However, the "little horn of Daniel", and "the man of sin" from 2 Thessalonians 2:4 refer to the same power. As does the woman who rides the beast in Revelation, referencing a false Church riding a political system, controlled by this entity.
John used it to describe people who were formerly of them but turned away, or of those who flatly rejected Christ. He also used it to refer to a power which was developing in his day, but would continue on. A "spirit of anti-Christ" which was coming. As Paul also wrote, the mystery of iniquity which doth already work (though restrained in his day).
...meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence throughout so many ages. ” – American Catholic Quarterly Review, April 1911.
A reign of terror ensued. The despotism, corruption, and evils perpetrated by this power are legion, including bloody wars and inquisitions where millions of her opponents were martyred. The anti-Christ has been synonymous with the Papacy since Reformation times. All of the great reformers, in fact, all of Protestantism, held this view for centuries. Regrettably, about 100-150 years ago futurism succeeded in overturning historicism as the predominant eschatology, and now the truth is all but lost to the masses.
A Great Cloud of Witnesses:"Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist ."Taken from All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen. Dorchester House Publications, p. 205. 1991.
Modern historicists still hold that the Papacy is anti-Christ and some influential dispensationalists do as well, including Dave Hunt. Dispensationalists of this persuasion, have significant differences in their timeline and view of Israel, but with historicists still manage to identify Rome as the seat of the anti-Christ.
Unfortunately, Roman Catholic futurism (from the Jesuit Ribera) is now the predominant view and is taught almost everywhere, even in conservative Evangelical circles. It is so entrenched and promoted, it is the only view most modern Christians have heard of, and anything to the contrary creates cognitive dissonance .
The Scofield Reference Bible, Hal Lindsey's " The Late Great Planet Earth ", the " Left Behind " series, are examples of modern indoctrination to this false view. It is counter-reformation doctrine that entered Protestantism primarily through John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren.
Antichrist would be a single evil person who would be received by the Jews and would rebuild Jerusalem, abolish Christianity, deny Christ, persecute the Church and rule the world for three and a half years. ...This futurist interpretation with its personal Antichrist and three and a half year period of tribulation did not take root in the Protestant church until the early nineteenth century. " The Blessed Hope" by George Eldon Ladd.
Ladd (among many well-respected scholars) traces this erroneous belief back to a Jesuit named Francisco Ribera around 1590. He was commissioned by the then sitting Pope to counter the reformers charge that the Papacy was the fulfilment of the Biblical anti-Christ.
You see, this question "Who is the anti-Christ" is not a new one. There are many ways that the Papacy fits the identifying marks, and the reformers were well versed in them. Here is just one, the number of his name - 666.
Andreas Helwig (and others) published the answer to this riddle centuries ago, by counting the numbers in the letters of the Popes official title -VICARIUS FILII DEI
Languages like Greek and Hebrew have numerical values to their letters and having a number to your name was common in ancient times.
NUMERAL NAME VALUE I unus 1 V quinque 5 X decem 10 L quinquaginta 50 C centum 100 D quingenti 500 M mille 1000
VICARIUS FILII DEI
V = 5 F = no value D = 500 I = 1 I = 1 E = no value C = 100 L = 50 I = 1 A = no value I = 1 -------- R = no value I = 1 501 I = 1 -------- U/V = 5 53 S = no value -------- 112 + 53 + 501 = 666 112
Father Reginald Martin :
Vicarius Filii Deimeans Vicar [or representative] of the Son of God, a term scholars believe first appears in a document known as the Donation of Constantine, dated to the eighth or ninth century. This is an apt description of the Pope, who is frequently referred to as the Vicar of Christ, and, at present, probably only the most bitterly anti-Catholic individuals would take offense at the title . However, this has not always been the case. Foes of Catholicism from the 16th to the 19th centuries delighted in pointing out that the title could be turned into the 666 that is the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation.
Some Catholics vehemently deny the use of this title by the Popes but it is found in the Donation of Constantine which was cited in writing by no less than 10 Popes as proof of their authority. The Donation of Constantine was eventually exposed as a pious fraud, but not before it had the desired effect of securing the power of the Papacy by deceit. The deception is just another proof of the illegitimacy of the entire system, and it's supposedly infallible head. Here are actual pictures of the title in use:
A page of Gratian's Decretum printed in 1512 with the title vicariusfiliidei indicated by the arrow. The entire volume is online at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek , the title appears on photo 201 .
Photo of a 16th-century copy of the Donation previously online at the Vatican Secret Archive website. The phrase vicariusfilli Dei appears at the end of the 5th line down of the left page.
This is just 1 of 18 Biblical identifications of the anti-Christ given in the books of Daniel and Revelation. From its seat (the city of seven hills) to its official colors (scarlet and purple), to the timing and place of its rise (Western Europe from the divisions of Rome), no other power on earth matches all 18 points.
The Mohammedan power is proposed by some, but it fails the test and is actually the fulfilment of a different prophecy. To any serious student of prophecy who has not been blinded by the Vatican, all those identifying marks point to the Papacy as the anti-Christ (in place of Christ) system. Its future is severe and sudden judgement.
Wait a minute, doesn't the Catholic Church teach and believe in Christ? Not in a very important sense. Like the Gnostics of John's day, they promote a view of flesh being intrinsically sinful. They refuse to admit he came "in the flesh" like other men. To facilitate this deception, even his Mother Mary was made to have sinless flesh, different from the rest of mankind.
The decree of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that Mary was sinless from her conception in her mother's womb, is considered to be an ex cathedra teaching, from Peter's Chair, an infallible article of faith binding on all Roman Catholics.
Ineffabilis Deus , Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 1854)
1 John 4:2-3 ...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”
For further study on this topic, might I recommend " End of the Age and Strong Delusion ". It labors to "deprogram" those who have bought into Jesuit futurism, the counter-reformation deception that has become the predominate eschatology of modern Christianity.
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Ken Rich
https://kenrich.me
updated by @ken-rich: 05/23/17 01:10:32AM
