Afterthought
Puritan Board Senior
The Scriptures speak of "the man of sin" and say "that antichrist shall come," but where do we get the idea that there is "the" Antichrist in Scripture? Does it just come from looking at the contrast between "that antichrist shall come" and "even now are there many antichrists"? Does it come from the beasts of Revelation (in which case, if one took a purely "ideal" view of the beasts, then I would think this could not support the concept of a "the Antichrist"?)? Is some connection made that "the man of sin" is "the Antichrist?
So in short, does "the Antichrist" exist as a figure in Scripture? And if so, where is this figure being found? I suppose it might depend a bit on what one means by "the Antichrist" e.g., it would seem to me that "the Antichrist" in the popular Christian culture/dispensationalist view is not the same as whatever "the Antichrist" is in Scripture? Confessionally, it would seem the only thing mentioned is "that Antichrist, the man of sin," not "the Antichrist."
So in short, does "the Antichrist" exist as a figure in Scripture? And if so, where is this figure being found? I suppose it might depend a bit on what one means by "the Antichrist" e.g., it would seem to me that "the Antichrist" in the popular Christian culture/dispensationalist view is not the same as whatever "the Antichrist" is in Scripture? Confessionally, it would seem the only thing mentioned is "that Antichrist, the man of sin," not "the Antichrist."