What Is The Antichrist?

Most Christians focus on “who is the antichrist?” but to know that answer one must understand how the Bible defines the word.

Most people believe that it just means someone who opposes Christ, who is against Christ.

But the word Antichrist can also mean ‘in place of Christ‘ or ‘substitute Christ,’ meaning someone who would come and proclaim to be Christ.

This End Times Deception Bible study will show you who fulfills both of those descriptions, so that there can be no doubt about their identity.

‘Antichrist‘ is a Greek word.  ‘Vicar‘ is an English word.  The words are synonymous.
They have exactly the same meaning.

‘Antichrist‘ translated into the English is ‘Vice Christ‘ or ‘Vicar of Christ.’

‘Vicar of Christ, rendered into the Greek is ‘Antichristos‘ = ‘Antichrist.’

The ordinary use of the word in the Greek is decisive on this point.

The Popes of Rome rose to power after the last Roman Emperor was removed in 476 A.D., fulfilling 2 Thessalonians 2:7

St Gelasius I, who was the Pope from 492 – 496, was the first Pope to be called the “Vicar of Christ“.

And since then each Pope has been declared the Vicar of Christ, as they have proclaimed to be Christ in the flesh.

Pope Boniface VIII said “We declare, assert, define and pronounce to be subject to the Roman Pontiff is to every creature altogether necessary for salvation…  I have the authority of the King of Kings.  I am all in all, and above all, so that God Himself and I, the Vicar of Christ, have but one consistory, and I am able to do almost all that God can do. What therefore, can you make of me but God?” Pope Boniface VIII, Papal bull Unam sanctam, 1302 A.D.

Pope Pius IX said, “I alone… am the successor of the apostles, the vicar of Jesus Christ.  I am the way, the truth, and the life…” Pope Pius IX , History of the Christian Church, by Henry Charles Sheldon, p. 59.

Pope Pius X declared, “The Pope is not simply the representative of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, he is Jesus Christ Himself, under the veil of the flesh.  Does the Pope speak?  It is Jesus Christ who is speaking, hence, when anyone speaks of the Pope, it is not necessary to examine but to obey.” Pope Pius X, Evangelical Christendom, Vol. 49, Jan 1. 1895 A.D.,  p. 15, “the organ of the Evangelical Alliance,” published in London by J. S. Phillips.

Pope Pius XII said, “…recognize the Holy, Catholic, Roman Church to be the only true Church of Jesus Christ, outside of which neither sanctity nor salvation can be found. Call them to the unity of the one fold, granting them the grace to believe every truth of our holy faith and to submit themselves to the Supreme Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth.” Pope Pius XII, The Raccolta, Benzinger Brothers, Boston, 1957 A.D., No. 626.
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The position of Antichrist is not just one man, it is a position, like the President of the United States or the King of England.

The Vicar of Christ, the Vice-Christ, the Antichrist, the Popes of Rome, presents himself in the stead of the true Christ and must therefore be characterized by deception, dissimulation and counterfeit.

You may be thinking that Pope Francis I isn’t saying these things, so it doesn’t matter.

But Papal statements, known as Papal Bulls and ex cathedra statements, remain the stance of the Roman Catholic Church, until a Pope retracts it.

They are like a law in the U.S.  If a President enacts a law, it’s the rule of the land until another President gets the law overturned.

Therefore, if a previous Pope proclaimed it and the Roman Catholic Church hasn’t issued a retraction, then it is still their official stance.

The word Antichrist only appears four times in the Bible, each time in John’s epistles.

1 John 2:22 says, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”

You’ve already seen that the Popes of Rome proclaim to be Christ in the flesh, therefore they are denying the true Christ.

They proclaim to be God on earth, thereby denying the Father.

Pope Nicholas I said, “I am in all and above all, so that God himself, and I, the vicar of God, hath both one consistory…and I am able to do almost all that God can do…I then, being above all…seem by this reason, to be above all gods.” “The Church Historians of England: Reformation Period,” by Josiah Pratt, pub. 1856, p.159

Pope Pius V blasphemed,  “The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Cities Petrus Bertanous Chapter XXVII: 218.

Pope Innocent III said “We may according to the fullness of our power, dispose of the law and dispense above the law. Those whom the Pope of Rome doth separate, it is not a man that separates them but God. For the Pope holdeth place on earth, not simply of a man but of the true God.” Decretals of Gregory IX, Bk. 1, Ch. 3

Pope Leo XIII declared, “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” Pope Leo XIII Encyclical Letter, June 20, 1894

They take the name Holy Father, thereby denying the Father.

Jesus said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9

The Popes of Rome act as the Mediator between God and men, thereby denying the Father and the Son

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” 1 John 2:18

Verse 19 tells us that John is not talking about an end times antichrist, but rather he was talking about people in his day, who were a part of the Early Church,

“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.”

The foundation of the Roman Catholic Church began in the first century.  Simon the Magician, known as Simon the Magus, tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:18-24.

After Peter rebuked him, he went to Rome and proclaimed to be Christ.  Many believe that he was the first Pope, as it was not Simon Peter.

You can read a detailed study that proves the Peter was not the first Pope, and the Simon the Magus was, by clicking on Simon Magus First Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

“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.” 1 John 4:3

Again, John is saying that the coming of the spirit of antichrist is already in the world, it’s not an end times only occurrence.

“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.” 2 John 1:7

Denying ‘Jesus is come in the flesh’ doesn’t just mean that they deny that He ever existed.  The Greek for the word flesh can mean:

human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specially), a human being (as such):—carnal(-ly, + -ly minded), flesh(-ly).

Pope John Paul II proclaimed that Mary was sinless, meaning she didn’t have a fleshly nature, and therefore her Son wouldn’t have a fleshly, human nature either, and He wouldn’t be capable of sinning.  But the Word of God says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15

“The truth of the Assumption, defined by Pius XII, is reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which thus expresses the Church’s faith: “Preserved free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate Virgin was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory upon the completion of her earthly sojourn. She was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the Universe…For the Mother of Christ is glorified as ‘Queen of the Universe‘.” (Pope John Paul II: Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church)

Pope Pius XI proclaimed that Mary alone can save people from the hands of Satan, thereby denying Jesus’ work in the flesh, which paid the price for our sins and for our salvation

“What will it cost you, oh Mary, to hear our prayer? What will it cost you to save us? Has not Jesus placed in your hands all the treasures of His grace and mercy? You sit crowned Queen at the right hand of your son: your dominion reaches as far as the heavens and to you are subject the earth and all creatures dwelling thereon. Your dominion reaches even down into the abyss of hell, and you alone, oh Mary, save us from the hands of Satan.” (Pope Pius XI: Quas Primas (On the Feast of Christ the King), Encyclical promulgated on 12-11-1925, #18.)

Pius IX said that Mary obtained all salvation, again denying Christ’s work in the flesh.

“God has committed to the Blessed Virgin Mary the treasury of all good things in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace and all salvation.” (Pius IX: Encycl., Ubi primum, February 2, 1894) — [p. 18, no. 38]

Pope Benedict XV declared that Mary redeemed the human race with Christ, thereby denying Christ’s atoning work in the flesh.

“To such extent did Mary suffer and almost die with her suffering and dying Son; to such extent did she surrender her maternal rights over her Son for: man’s salvation . . that we may rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ.” (Pope Benedict XV : Inter Sodalicia, 1918)

Pope Leo XIII said that Mary is our Mediator of Salvation, which denies that Christ alone became our Mediator through His atoning work.

“O Holy Mother of God; to thee we lift our prayers for thou, powerful and merciful, art the Mediatrix of our salvation.” (Pope Leo XIII: Encycl., Jucunda semper, September 8, 1894.) — [p. 19, no. 43]

“O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, obtains salvation except through thee, none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.” Pope Leo XIII: Encycl., Adiutricem populi, September 5, 1895.) — [p. 12, no. 13]

Pope Leo XIII said that no one goes to Christ except through Mary.  But the Word of God says that Christ alone is our Mediator, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1

“With equal truth it may be said that of the great treasury of all graces given to us by Our Lord—for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ—nothing comes to us except through Mary’s mediation, for such is God’s Will. Thus, as no man goes to the Father but by the Son, so no one goes to Christ except through his mother.” (Pope Leo XIII: Encycl., Octobri mense, September 22, 1891.) — [pp. 13,14, no. 19]

They deny Christ’s one-time atoning work in the flesh, and proclaim that the Eucharist becomes the body of Christ and His sacrifice, over and over, which is repeated every day of the year.

Antichrist poses as the true representative of Christ, not Christ’s enemy, hence deception and lying are his stock-in-trade. Atheists, Communists, Mohammedans and many others do not claim to be Christ’s sole representatives on earth.

They openly declare their opposition, hatred, and undying antagonism to Christ. They don’t lie about that. They do not conceal their blasphemies against Christ. They openly declare themselves haters of our Lord Jesus Christ. They wear no masks. Therefore they are not the Antichrist.

Revelation 13:18 “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”

Vicar of Christ in Latin is ‘Vicarius Filii Dei’, which equates numerically
to the number 666.

For more proof that the Popes of Rome are the antichrist beast of Revelation, the Little Horn of Daniel, and the office of the Papacy, the Son of Perdition; read these studies.

The Roman Catholic Church and Jesuits fulfill the prophecies in Revelation 13.

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11

Here’s a graphic to use on Facebook and other social media sites, to help people see the truth about who is the antichrist.