© Getty Images

How often does it appear in the Bible? -

Surprisingly, the Bible doesn’t actually mention the Antichrist that often. In fact, the term “antichrist” only appears a total of four times, all of which in I John (2:18, 2:22, 4:3) and in II John 7.

© Shutterstock

Gospel of John -

But the gospel of John doesn’t mention the Antichrist as a single entity. He refers to several “antichrists,” as in those who don't believe in Jesus. 

© Shutterstock

Gospel of John -

For example, John 4:3 reads “And every spirit that 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.”

© Shutterstock

Jesus talks about false messiahs -

Matthew 24:24 reads: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

© Getty Images

Revelation -

Things get a bit juicier when we get to the Book of Revelation, with beasts and the number 666 popping up, though none of which is actually directly linked to the Antichrist.

© Getty Images

The concept -

It was not until 950 CE that details about the Antichrist were written. Queen Gerberga of France asked the monk Adso of Montier-en-Der to do so, because, to be fair, the Bible didn’t really offer much insight about this figure.

© Public Domain

The story -

So, the writings of this monk pretty much dictated how people perceived the Antichrist. According to him, the Antichrist would be a Jew born in Babylon who would appear at the end of the Holy Roman Empire.

© Getty Images

The story -

It would look an awful lot like the second coming of Christ, so everyone would eventually follow him. But then the Antichrist would persecute Christians for three and a half years. Until of course, the real Jesus comes back and kicks his butt.

© Getty Images

Adding to the story -

But Adso wasn’t the only monk to write about the Antichrist. Later, in the 1100s, Italian theologian Joachim of Fiore became a subject matter expert!

© Public Domain

Joachim of Fiore’s theory -

For Joachim, there were a number of Antichrists. In fact some of them had already lived by then ( i.e. Nero). Though ultimately, the main bad guy would come along during the apocalypse. This guy's name was Gog.

© Getty Images

Martin Luther -

The father of Protestantism was ultimately responsible for naming the Antichrist in his book ‘95 Thesis.’ Conveniently, the Antichrist was the entire concept of the papacy. More popes have been called the Antichrist since then.

© Getty Images

Concept -

For Martin Luther, the whole idea of indulgences and paying for salvation was against Christ’s principles. Plus he thought the Pope was somehow trying to take Jesus’ place. So, according to Luther, no one could be more Antichrist than the pope.

© Getty Images

Bringing back “The” Antichrist -

The whole concept of the Antichrist evolved to become more of a concept representing anything against Christianity, rather than a single bad guy. But around 1900, thanks to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, things changed.

© Getty Images

Bringing back “The” Antichrist -

In 1895, Nietzsche published the anti-Christian book called ‘The Antichrist,’ bringing the name back to the mainstream. By the 1970s, Christians believed the Antichrist was an individual.

© Getty Images

Islam’s version of the Antichrist -

Christ is a prophet in Islam, so there's also an Antichrist figure. The name of the false messiah is Al-Masih ad-Dajjal, or simply known as the Dajjal.

© Shutterstock

Islam’s version of the Antichrist -

While this evil figure doesn’t appear in the Quran, he does so in the Hadith.

© Shutterstock

Islam’s version of the Antichrist -

Dajjal’s story is very similar to the Christian Antichrist and he is described as "a plump, one-eyed man with a ruddy face and curling hair."

© Shutterstock

The many “Antichrists” throughout history -

Nero, Napoleon, Henry Kissinger, and pretty much every pope in the last century or so, have been called the Antichrist.

© Getty Images 

Ronald Reagan -

American presidents have been particularly targeted. The man named Gregory Stuart Gordon, who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan said he had to do so because the then-retired president was the Antichrist.

© Getty Images

Barack Obama -

White House shooter Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez also believed that President Barack Obama was the Antichrist.

© Getty Images

Barack Obama -

But Ortega-Hernandez wasn’t the only one to think that then-President Obama was the Antichrist. A 2010 Harris Interactive poll revealed that 14% of Americans thought the same.

© Getty Images

Anti-Semitism -

If the Antichrist is an evil version of Jesus, and Jesus was Jewish, then the Antichrist must be Jewish too, right? This has led to anti-Semitism, which has lasted for centuries.

© Getty Images

Anti-Semitism and homophobia -

Christian broadcaster Rick Wiles even went a step forward and claimed that, not only all other religions are antichrist, he personally believed the “Man of Perdition” will be “a homosexual Jew”

© Shutterstock

Homophobia -

While current religious leaders have made such assumptions, Daniel 11:37 actually mentions something that might fuel these homophobic remarks. Talking about Babylon king Darius the Mede, it reads: "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women."

© Getty Images

Homophobia -

The link between the Antichrist and homophobia is reinforced by some preachers. One pointed that "Daniel indicates that [the antichrist] will be a sexual pervert, most likely a homosexual."

© Getty Images

666 -

Revelation 13:18 attributes a number to the beast. "This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."

© Getty Images

666 -

But there isn’t anything supernatural about 666. The number is in fact connected to the Roman Empire, and it’s essentially a Jewish numerical code that translates to Nero. To be fair, Nero was truly antichrist (as in he persecuted, tortured, and killed Christians).

© Getty Images

666 -

The number was obtained using the Hebrew numerology of gematria (a Jewish form of numerology that assigns values to letters).

© Shutterstock

666 phobia -

There is even a name for the fear of the number 666. It's called "Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia."

© Shutterstock

It’s everywhere -

But the number 666 is not the only thing that is seen as linked to the Antichrist. From The Beatles to Procter & Gamble, many bands, brands, images, and acronyms have been dubbed satanic and linked to the Antichrist.

Sources: (Grunge) (American Academy of Religion) (Slate) (Britannica 1, 2) (PBS) (Antichrists and Antichrist in Joachim of Fiore)(Project Muse) (Vatican Files) (The Gospel Coalition) (Inter-Islam) (Origins) (ABS-CBN)

See also: Is the 'Satanic panic' really over?

© Getty Images