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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.

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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. 

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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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Islam’s version of the Antichrist -

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

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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."

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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.

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Ronald Reagan -

American presidents have also been particularly targeted. A man named Gregory Stuart Gordon attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1990, saying he had to do so because the then-retired president was the Antichrist.

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Barack Obama -

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

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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."

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Homophobia -

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

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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."

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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).

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666 -

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

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666 phobia -

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

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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?

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