One of the glaring fallacies we're falling prey to in today's America, both inside and outside of the church, is our misunderstanding of "antichrist." The term, which only appears four times in all of Scripture, is used only by the Apostle John. Interestingly, John never uses it in his Gospel nor in the book of Revelation, the Bible's most important prophetic book. Instead, it is only found in two of John's three short epistles—three times in 1 John and once in 2 John. The plural "antichrists" is also used by John one time (1 John 2:18).
According to John, all unbelievers are antichrists, since they not only deny that Christ is the only hope of the world, but also put their hope elsewhere, either in themselves, others, or other things. By doing so, they are pointing others, at the forfeiture of their immortal souls, away from Christ, our only hope of glory, and to false hopes. What greater crime could possibly be committed against God or man? Yet, this soul destroying diabolical deed is being perpetrated today without any shrug of the shoulders on our fallen planet, not to mention only a few raised eyebrows in our church pews and pulpits.
Contrary to popular opinion, as well as much to the chagrin of contemporary Christians, the Biblical term "antichrist" does not just mean "against," as everyone understands it to mean, but also "in place of." Therefore, an antichrist is not just someone literally claiming to be "Christ" in his opposition to Christ, but may also be someone claiming to be a Christian who substitutes himself as Christ to others; that is, as their hope and savor, which, I might add, is the exact role our government has assumed in today's America.
Rather than being appalled by this antichrist atrocity being perpetrated by our government; that is, our present-day politicians, an ever-growing majority of Americans, who are ever-growing increasingly antagonistic toward Christ, are glad to attribute to our government the role of Christ, preferring our political leaders over Christ as our Lord and Savior. What I find most appalling, however, is the acquiescence of America's contemporary church to this antichrist atrocity. For instance, many contemporary Christians see no problem with a political activism that ascribes to political leaders the role of Christ as the hope of our country and the solution to our nation's ever-worsening and proliferating problems.
The Apostle John predicted that the "spirit of antichrist," which was already in the world in his day, would grow and grow until it finally crest and broke over the whole end-time world. Jesus also predicted, as the first of the Four Horsemen of John's Apocalypse symbolizes, the takeover of the world by end-time antichrists (false christs) (Matthew 24:4-5; Revelation 6:1-2). Unbeknownst to today's spiritually deceived masses, as well as gullible churchgoers, this phenomenal and Biblically predicted takeover of our planet by its antichrist politicians is being perpetrated in our present-day right under the noses of our world's unperceptive population.
Permit me to illustrate how this end-time mystery of iniquity is permeating our planet without being perceived by its people, even by its professed Christians. Tom Wolf is the Governor of Pennsylvania. Few people, if any, would consider him an antichrist, since he claims to be a Methodist and, like almost all present-day politicians, professes to be a Christian. Yet, he recently publicly stated that he was personally "horrified" by a Pennsylvania state representative's prayer, in which she claimed Jesus Christ to be our country's "only hope." Now, who, but an antichrist, would be horrified by such a prayer? Certainly no true Christian would, since all true Christians believe that Christ is indeed our only hope, not only ours, but our nation's and world's as well.
At the same time Wolf is horrified by a public profession of Christ as our country's only hope, he is putting himself forward in Pennsylvania as the lord, savior, and hope of all Pennsylvanians. According to Wolf, all Pennsylvanians must submit to his dictatorial dictates during Pennsylvania's coronavirus lockdown if they hope to be saved from the deadly Wuhan pathogen. Unbelievably, most Pennsylvanians are voluntarily subjugating themselves to this Wolf in sheep's clothing—pardon the pun—without a peep of protest.
Tom Wolf meets the criteria for an end-time antichrist, as do most other political leaders throughout our land today. Take for example our president. Our Lord taught that our fallen world would reject all who come in His name, but receive those who come in their own name (John 5:43). No one can honestly deny that Donald Trump is the absolute epitome of a narcissist. Far from being a preacher of Christ, he is the consummate self-promoter. For instance, according to Trump, he, not Christ, can make America great again. I'm always struck by Trump's use of the word "great" in all that he's done as our president, not to mention reminded by it of how Scripture characterizes both Daniel's Little Horn and the Beast of Revelation as speaking "great things," not only about themselves, but against God (Daniel 7:8, 20; Revelation 13:5).
As the Bible clearly teaches in the story of Nebuchadnezzar, the first beastly leader of a Gentile world power, world leaders who brag on themselves are committing a beastly sin against God (Daniel 4). For a world leader to seek his own glory rather than God's by bragging on himself is actually blasphemy against God, since the world leader is ascribing to himself God's glory and seeking for himself what belongs to God alone, the world's allegiance and adoration. Isn't it ironic, that today's church is looking for a particular coming antichrist, while it is unconsciously surrounded by a plethora of them, to whom it is heedlessly falling prey?