Spirit of antichrist

Description

The expression “spirit of antichrist” comes directly from Scripture. John writes about the spirit of antichrist that is already in the world, about many antichrists, and about the Antichrist whose coming is still future. The subject is therefore not limited to one future figure, but also includes a spiritual activity that opposes Jesus Christ.

Derek Prince draws attention to the double meaning of the word “anti.” It means not only acting against Christ, but also attempting to take His place. The spirit of antichrist first removes the true Christ, undermines His identity and authority, and then leads to replacing Him with another “Christ,” another messiah, or another spiritual authority.

First John gives very specific marks of this activity. The antichrist denies that Jesus is the Messiah, rejects the revelation of the Father and the Son, and does not confess Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh. Prince emphasizes that this is not simply paganism existing entirely outside Christianity. The spirit of antichrist may operate precisely where the truth about Jesus was previously known but is then consciously rejected or replaced.

For that reason, deception may retain religious language and speak about God, spirituality, love, light, or even “Christ,” while at the same time presenting someone other than the Jesus revealed in Scripture. Christian terminology may be used while His deity, incarnation, cross, resurrection, or unique place as the Son of God is rejected.

A particularly dangerous point is reached when Christ ceases to be the center and His place begins to be occupied by a person, leader, spiritual teacher, another revelation, or a religious system. What is initially presented as “deeper spirituality” can ultimately lead to a different image of Jesus and a different way of salvation.

The spirit of antichrist therefore works both through open opposition to Jesus and through more subtle replacement. In the first case Christ is rejected. In the second, His name may remain, but it is filled with different content. In both cases, a person is drawn away from the true Jesus Christ.

If someone has consciously accepted teaching that denies Jesus, renounced Him, entered into spiritual commitments contrary to the Gospel, or accepted a false “Christ,” the path to freedom leads through rejecting those agreements and returning to the truth about Jesus. This includes repentance for knowingly rejecting the truth, renouncing false revelations and spiritual commitments, and confessing Jesus Christ anew as Messiah, Son of God, and Lord.

If an active spiritual influence is connected with such bondage, it can be renounced and the spirit of antichrist can be commanded to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

“Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of antichrist.”
1 John 4:3

Sources

1 John 2:18–23; 1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 7 — the spirit of antichrist, many antichrists, denying Jesus as the Messiah, and rejecting the truth of His coming in the flesh.

Derek Prince — “The Spirit of Antichrist” — the spirit of antichrist as an activity directed against the true Messiah and leading to His replacement by a false one.

Derek Prince — “True and False Christ” — the meaning of “anti” as both “against” and “in place of,” together with characteristic features of the activity of the spirit of antichrist.

Derek Prince — “The Nature of the Beast” — the distinction between the spirit of antichrist, many antichrists, and the final Antichrist.