The apostles and disciples of the first century believed that they were living in the end-time. They hoped that the Lord will establish the Kingdom of God then. Their expectations did not happen. The Lord is central to the establishment of God’s Kingdom but the day of His return and rule is not His decision to make, it is solely at His Father’s discretion. The Lord Jesus, however, laid out specific events and conditions that are pre-cursor to His return. In Matthew 24 and Luke 21, known among the Bible-reading community as the “Olivet Prophecy”, he gave us a series of world events to watch for. The events and conditions mentioned by the Lord are more prominent in our time than any other time in history. We could very well be the generation that will witness the coming of the Lord as King of kings and Lord of lords.
In Matthew 24:24, we are told: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (KJV).
In Matthew 24, we are told of a series of ‘events’ to watch out for, but in verse 24, we also told of ‘personalities’ to take special note of. Most notable among them are ‘false Christs’ and ‘false prophets’. We are also warned that among the things the false Christs and false prophets will attempt to do is to ‘deceive’ even the elect. To deceive means to make a person believe in something that is not true, which, as a natural result of deception, makes them wander away from the truth. Whether this is deliberate or unintentional on the part of the ‘false christs’ and the ‘false prophets’ is unclear. They themselves may have truly believed that they are the “christ” and the “prophet”. This is of serious concern and a real warning to us who are closely watching world events and eagerly await the salvation of the Lord. Especially because the Lord warns that His disciples are among the primary objects of deception.
Of special interest is the fact that the Lord Jesus spoke of “false Christs”, not a single entity, but definitely more than what the majority of the Bible Community commonly believe and teach. He also spoke of “false prophets” which obviously meant more than one, though there will be one that will stand out among them (mentioned in Revelation 16:13, 19:20, and 20:10).
The Christ
To gain a better understanding of what the Lord meant by false Christ(s), first we need to understand who or what is the Christ. Christ is an English word, it is translated from the Greek word Khristos and it means “anointed”. It is not a surname or last name of the Lord Jesus. Christ is the equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. Messiah or mashiyach, is “a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); spec. The Messiah:--anointed Messiah” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries).
In the Hebrew and Greek translations (The Septuagint) of the Old Testament Bible, we will find that the word “Messiah” or “Khristos” do not always equate to the Lord Jesus, unless it is of ‘messianic’ nature. The exact english equivalent is “anointed”. Thus, what a Jew or Israelite in his native Hebrew tongue would call “mashiyach” we would call “the anointed” in the English language. In the Bible, an “anointed” person, a messiah or a khristos refer to one selected or ordained by God to serve as a priest (Leviticus 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22), or a king (I Samuel 2:35, I Samuel 24:6).
There are numerous Scriptures which, even though they do not contain the word “messiah” in particular, are understood as “messianic” in nature. The reason being that said Scriptures talk of the One whom God had anointed or appointed to serve as King of Israel and Judah in a prophetic sense, that is, in the future.
One such reference is Isaiah 9:6-7:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Another reference is in Jeremiah 23:5: “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (also found in Jeremiah 33:15).
There are many other Old Testament references to the “anointed”, the messiah or the Christ. In Micah 5:2, we are told that this Messiah is not of human origin, but divine. The New Testament pointed us to the specific child being the Messiah--the Christ, the anointed, the one we all came to know as Jesus (Matthew 2:1-6; Luke 1:26-33).
The Lord Jesus fulfills both sides of the priestly and kingly side of being the Messiah. In the Old Testament, the High Priest serves as the mediator between God and Israel. He offers sacrifices to cleanse the sins of Israel before they present themselves to God (Hebrews 7:27, 10:11). In the New Testament, Jesus offered a one-time sacrifice, and with it fulfilled the requirement of the law for all time to come (Hebrews 10:12, 14; 7:27). The Lord Jesus is truly what His cousin John the Baptist spoke of: “Behold the lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world...” (John 1:29). The apostle Paul wrote of Him in this way: “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:7). The Lord became the High Priest and the Lamb that took away our sins and cleansed us. In Revelation 11:15, the apostle John saw in his vision that an angel proclaimed ‘the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever’. Thus, it is clear from Scriptures that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed that is to come--as a High Priest and as a King.
The False Christs
Having a good and clear perspective of what and who the true Messiah is, it becomes a whole lot easier to understand and recognize who and what is a false Christ or a false Messiah. It is also crucial that we know that it is significant that the false Messiah, as prophesied by the Lord, will claim that he came “in His name” (Matthew 24:5). This can be interpreted or understood in two different ways. First, the “false Christ” will claim that he comes by the authority of the Lord knowing full well the Lord didn’t really send him, he’s just claiming it. Second, these “false Christs” may have sincerely believed in their hearts that they were truly sent by the Lord. However, since the Lord Jesus IS the prophesied “one and only” true Christ or Messiah, they are still and always will be, false Christs, despite their sincerity.
What’s important in the statement that they will be coming “in His name” is that these false messiahs lay claim to have been sent by the Lord. This is of utmost importance because neither the Beast (Revelation 13:1-8) nor the Man of Sin (II Thessalonians 2:3-4) will make such claim. The Beast and the Man of Sin will not proclaim themselves as coming in the name of the Lord or “in His name”.
The Lord warned us ahead that there will be those who will think that they are the Messiah, and there will be those who will believe the Messiah had already come, they will say “There he is...” or “Here he is...” (Matthew 24:5, 23-24), and we are cautioned not to believe them. The Jews belonging to the generation of the Lord Jesus and John the Baptist were expecting a Messiah to come. And the True Messiah did come in their time. When John was preaching and baptizing in the Jordan River, they asked him if he was the messiah (John 1:19-25). But John the Baptist made it very clear that he was not the messiah. Jesus was asked the same question, first by his cousin John (Matthew 11:2-6), and then by the High Priest (Mark 14:61). And the Lord Jesus positively answered that He is indeed the Messiah (Mark 14:62). When the false messiah(s) comes into the picture, he(they) is(are) likely to claim to be the one(s) anointed and chosen by God to sit on the throne of David. And according to the Lord, there will be many in the last days who will make such claims. Ironically, many will believe them.
It is mind-boggling when we consider that an individual who believes that the Lord Jesus is the Christ begins to claim that he is now the Christ instead of the Lord. Though it may not be as absurd an idea when a person of Davidic or of Jewish descent steps forward and claim to be the messiah that is to come, the savior of God’s people. In this case, the false messiah is likely one who neither considered nor accepted the Lord Jesus as the true Messiah.
The Messiah that is to come is and has always been expected by the Jews to be a descendant of King David and shall sit on his throne (Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15; Isaiah 9:6-7 ). He was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
The true Messiah had already come 2000 years ago, and He is coming again--and when He does, no one will have to tell us where He is, for the whole world will know and will witness His coming (Matthew 24:26-28; Mark 14:62; Daniel 7:14-15; Revelation 1:7).
The Antichrists
The term antichrist was used ONLY by the apostle John and is nowhere mentioned in the letters of Paul, nor in the Old Testament, nowhere in the four gospels, not even in Revelation but only in the two epistles of John (I and II John). How John defined what an antichrist is is quite interesting.
Consider I John 2:18-19: Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
In this passage, we are clearly told that there isn’t just one “Antichrist” but MANY antichrists. We are also told that these antichrists originally belonged to or among the brethren. They separated and no longer continued with the church of God. We are also clearly told that as early as the apostolic church, they were already there.
The reason for their separation is partially explained in I John 2:22, John wrote: Who is a liar but that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Apparently, there are those among the brethren of the apostolic era who stopped believing that the Lord Jesus is the promised Messiah--the Christ. They stopped believing that the Lord Jesus is truly the Son of God, despite the Father’s very own testimony that Jesus is His beloved Son (Mark 1:11; Matthew 17:5; II Peter 1:17). The antichrist(s) is an individual who at first believed and then stopped believing in the Lord as being the Messiah.
The apostle John explains further the characteristics of the antichrists in I John 4:2-3 and II John 7: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 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. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
It’s difficult to miss what the apostle John is trying to tell the brethren of his time. There are those among them who stopped believing that the Lord Jesus as the Christ came in the flesh, as a human being, and literally walked among them. Anyone who came to such a conclusion possesses the thinking, and the spirit of an antichrist.
The Beast
Most Bible scholars agree that the Beast spoken of in Revelation 11, 13 and 17 is a future resurrection of the once world-ruling Roman Empire, a continuation of the 4th Kingdom spoken of by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 2). There are Bible scholars that believe that the “false Christ” and the Beast are “one and the same” person. However, neither the book of Revelation nor the Lord Jesus makes such allusions. As a matter of fact, the book of Revelation has no direct reference to a “false Christ” though it has at least three chapters dedicated to the Beast.
There are more differences than similarities between these two players of end-time prophecy: the false christ and the Beast. The most glaring of which is that the “false christ” claims to have been sent by the Lord, that he came in His name, while the Beast has nothing in his mouth but blasphemies toward God (Revelation 13:5-6) nor does he claim to be sent by God but “opened his mouth in blasphemy against God”.
The Prophets
Prophets are sent by God to deliver a message for Him. In Hebrews 1:1 we are told that God spoke to mankind in times past thru the prophets, and in these last days speaks to us through His Son. In Genesis 20:7, Abraham is spoken of as a prophet of God. Aaron was a ‘prophet’ of Moses when they were in the presence of the Pharaoh of Egypt (Exodus 7:1). In Numbers 12:6, God tells us that He communicates with prophets in dreams and visions.
Prophets play very important roles in the course of history. God himself declares through the prophet Amos that when He decides to execute a plan, he will reveal it to “his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). In Revelation 11:3-7, God reveals to the apostle John that there will be two witnesses in the end-time who will deliver God’s message for three and a half years, bestowed them with powers similar to that of Moses and Elijah.
The False Prophets
False prophets are those who say they were sent by God to deliver a message for Him, but they were not. They were false, untrue, deceitful, and liars. Moses warned the people of Israel concerning such prophets, those who claim they spoke in God’s behalf but were not really sent by Him (Deuteronomy 18:20, 13:1-5). The prophet Jeremiah wrote strongly against prophets who speak lies and deceit and warned those who would believe in them (Jeremiah 14:14-16).
In Matthew 24:24, the Lord warned us that in the future, there will be many false prophets and they will actually succeed in deceiving people (Matthew 24:11, 24). We do not want to be among those that will be led in the wrong direction, to our own death and destruction.
It is intriguing that in the Old Testament, the prophets of Baal and the prophets of the groves were not referred to as false prophets (I Kings 18:19-20, 25, 40; I Kings 19:1). Perhaps rightfully so, because they did not “claim” to be God’s prophets. They did not presume to speak for God.
The Man of Sin
The apostle Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 2:3-10: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
There is a huge difference between the false messiah and the Man of Sin. The false messiah claims that he is sent by God, the Man of Sin “proclaims” himself as God. He does not claim to be a messiah at all, rather he claims to be very God.
Watch and Pray
We need to be careful in the reading and interpretation of the Scriptures. If we wrongly interpret or misread prophecies, we could end up looking at the wrong signs and backing up the wrong side. If we are deceived or coerced into following the Beast, we could end up fighting or going against the True Messiah when He comes. Or to make matters worse, we could end up pinning our hopes of salvation on a false messiah. If we listen to and follow the words of the false prophets, we can end up turning our backs on God. We need to tread cautiously as the evil days begin to dawn upon us. We need to seriously watch and know more about the major end-time players of prophecy. The apostle Peter reminded us that “we have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 2:19-21). Perhaps this is one of the reasons why at the close of His warning, the Lord Jesus strongly encouraged us: “watch ye therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:36).
