Just Who Is Antichrist?

Many books have been written on the subject and there has been much speculation of just who this mysterious person is. Some say he was born in the 1950's and is living among us somewhere, soon to be revealed. How could this be true in light of what Saint John said in his time, that antichrist was "already in the world", 1John 4:3?

ANTI-
1. A person who is opposed to something.
2. Opposite, opposing, against, counteracting, or neutralizing.

So we either have a person who opposes Christ, or someone or something that fulfills definition # 2, an entity which is opposed to, or is against Christ.
How many falsely accuse the Pope as being Antichrist?

Did you know that Holy Scripture is very precise in revealing just WHO Antichrist really is?

1."Dear children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have risen; whereby we know it is the last hour."
1John 2:18

2."Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist who denies the Father and the Son."
1John 2:22

3."And every spirit that severs Jesus, is not of GOD, but is of antichrist of whom you have heard that he is coming, and now is already in the world."
1John 4:3.

4."For many deceivers have gone forth into the world who do not confess Jesus as the Christ coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."
2John 1:7.

There you have it. Antichrist is mentioned only four times in Scripture and only in two Epistles of Saint John. Antichrist is not mentioned at all in the book of Revelation, as some seem to believe.

In those four verses Saint John tells us not only who Antichrist is, but also who he could not be.

Elucidation:
1. At the time of writing of John's Epistles, many antichrists already existed,
1John 2:18.
Heresies existed from the very beginning and with them were the heretics who lied, deceived, and severed Jesus. Two of the main heresies in the first century were the Simonians who denied the humanity of Christ, and the Cerenthians who denied the divinity of Christ. In the second century more than 14 new heresies sprang up, further severing the Body of Christ. As the centuries wore on, older heresies died out and new ones sprang up to take their place. There have been heresies in every century and some are recycled such as Jehovah's witnesses who again deny the divinity of Christ.

2. Antichrist is a liar and denies that Jesus is the Christ, and he also denies the Father and the Son,
1John 2:22.
Yes, as I have pointed out in the first item, there was the denial of Jesus in His divinity, and in His humanity. Over the centuries, there were some denials of both by a single heresy.

3. Antichrist is the one who severs Jesus,
1John 4:3.
As previously discussed, but the severance of Jesus today is worse than ever, as we shall see shortly.

4. Antichrist is a deceiver who denies that Jesus is the Christ and has come in the flesh,
2John 1:7
It is happening today in a big way.
In summary:
There are many antichrists, even in the time of Saint John, and they are liars, and deny that Jesus is the Christ, and they sever Him, and they deceive and deny that He came in the flesh. There is another word which fits all of these parameters perfectly. It is the Heretic the fomenter of Heresy.
Conclusions:
1. Antichrist could not possibly be the Pope since he meets none of the qualifications. The Pope has never denied that Jesus is the Christ, has never denied the Father and Son, and he has never severed Jesus.
For those of you who say the Pope is antichrist, the onus is upon you to prove what you charge, and you must provide genuine historical documents to back up what you say.
Therefore, just who CANNOT be antichrist as shown by Holy Scripture?

2. Now, anyone who calls Jesus Christ a liar, has denied Him, 1John 5:10. Anyone who does not believe what He said, therefore, denies Him, as they have called Him a liar. What He said is recorded in Holy Scripture as we all know. Take a look here and you will see many verses in Scripture which are denied by non-Catholics today. The statistical evidence is there; it cannot be denied. Therefore, you tell me, Just Who Is antichrist?

3. Now who severs Jesus? He commanded that there be one fold and one shepherd in John 10:16. How many deny these words of His and sever His Body into ever smaller pieces? In 1981 there were about 20,780 splits in the Body of Christ among non-Catholics. Today there are over 33,800 non-Catholic ecclesial communities, as documented in the World Christianity Encyclopedia, April 2001 edition. That is an increase of 65% in the severing of the body of Christ in just 20 years. That works out to a rate of over 125% increase every 40 years at the present rate of splitting.
"Has Christ been divided up?" 1Corinthians 1:13.
Therefore, you tell me, Just Who Is antichrist?

4. Now just who is the deceiver and the denier of Jesus come in the flesh? The deceiver is anyone who does not speak the truth, just as Satan deceived Eve in Genesis 3:5. The denier, as I have already shown, are those who do not believe the words of Jesus Christ.

A Final Note:
According to what Holy Scripture has told us, Just Who Is Antichrist?