What or Who is AntiChrist?

(Matthew 24:3-5 NKJV) Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

Is this One Question or Three?

These are the questions many are asking today.  Is the sign of His coming, the sign of the rapture explained by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, or is it the sign of His coming to the Mount of Olives as prophesied in Acts 1:11?  I believe it is the latter.

I personally believe that the rapture could occur at any time and does not need signs to precede it.  All of the events of the second coming include the rapture, the tribulation period and the millennial reign of Christ.  These events begin unexpectedly for an unprepared people.  They come as a thief in the night.  So my take on Matthew 24 is that the Lord predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and then predicted the events of the tribulation period which would precede His coming to the Mount of Olives.  The end of the age is (in my opinion) the tribulation period which concludes this current age.  So again, we see that there is a time gap between the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. I personally do not believe that the Lord has answered the question as to when these things will begin to happen.  Instead He tells us to be ready for these coming events and they will start when they are least expected.  Notice the Lord says, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:44 NKJV).”

The First Sign

Deception and preaching that Christ is the Christ is the first thing mentioned.  I do not believe the sign has to do with a person presenting himself as Christ in the first part of the tribulation period. False Christs and false prophets are mentioned later. During the tribulation period a man will arise that wants to be worshiped as Christ and obviously he is AntiChrist.  However,  I personally believe that Christendom will deceive many by a false belief in a Christ of their own making (this is also antichrist).  The Christendom that exists after the raptureAA will deceive people into believing that they are following the Lord when in fact none of the things that characterized the Lord and that should characterize Christians will be evident in their lives and preaching.  Religious people crucified the Lord and religious people are going to lead the rebellion and false peace of the early part of the tribulation period.  Christ humbled himself and became obedient to the death on a cross.  That is not the Christ of popular and political Christianity today.  It seems to me that the stage is being set for this deception.

My Question

My question is, are we able to discern the religious deception of OUR day?  Are we still preaching that we must be born again?  Are we still comparing salvation to a resurrection as in John 5:24?  Do we pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, ‘But deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13 NKJV)?'”  If Christendom is preaching a false Christ and a false gospel now, what is it going to be like after the rapture when Christendom (not believing Christians) are left behind?

If I was not sure I was saved I would be more concerned about settling that issue than I would be concerned about the present elections.  God does not lie.  He says that there is only one way to avoid being deceived and that is to believe the message that He has given us in the Bible.  I in my simple way believe it and I hope my readers do as well.

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of November 1, 2026

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.