Is the anti-Christ alive today?  One commentator basically asks the question, “Do we care?”

“…you are wasting your time in trying to figure out if some particular person in Washington, London, Paris, or Rome is the Antichrist.  According to the Scriptures, he will be revealed only when he makes his peace covenant with Israel.  That will be his formal introduction to the world, and that takes place after God’s people are in heaven.¹  

…I believe that Satan has a man ready in every generation, a Satanically prepared vessel to take center stage and rule the world.  After all, this is Satan’s goal (see Isaiah 14:12-14). God has stated that He will rule the world through His Son, the Christ, so Satan’s goal is to usurp God and rule the world through his man, the Antichrist.  Since the devil doesn’t know when the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom will occur, he is prepared in every generation with his man to try to take over the world and to stand against Christ and the establishment of his glorious kingdom.”²  

Another commentator felt an anti-Christ pre-occupation wasn’t value-added…

“Is the Antichrist alive today? On one hand, the Bible urges us not to speculate about this or become overly anxious about it. On the other hand, however, it does warn us to be alert—because Satan and his servants are always active. The Bible says, “Even now many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18).

The most important fact about the Antichrist, however, is that he will not win! Like his master, Satan, he is already a defeated foe—because by Christ’s death and resurrection He has gained the victory over all the forces of evil. Is your faith and hope in Him?”³

A third commentator (in citing further commentaries) questioned whether we will be dealing with a “collective Antichrist” v. a single individual—alluding to today’s current moral climate and “the appalling manifestations of atheism, paganism, cynical contempt for moral principles,” as well as anti-Catholic movements:

“Within recent years a novel and arresting explanation of the Scriptural data relating to Antichrist has been proposed by two Catholic scholars of ability and distinction. In the Introduction to his Commentary on the Apocalypse, (E. B. Allo) examines the passage of St. Paul concerned with “the man of lawlessness” (II Thess., ii. 3-12), about whose identity with the Antichrist of St. John there can scarcely be any doubt. He concludes that “the man of lawlessness” is not an individual but a collective personality, denoting the entire series of those working in behalf of Satan to the end of time…(D. Buzy) approves the view of Allo that this interpretation of the text does not prevent us from assuming that the malevolent power exercised by these successive antichrists will reach its culmination in some individual man, who will incorporate in himself all the forces of iniquity.”⁴

One could conclude that the “appalling” environment exists today more than ever, therefore, the anti-Christ could also exist today. 

In addition, over the last fifty years or so, there has been an eschatological position that is gaining more and more traction, that the anti-Christ will not arise from the revived Roman Empire; but may instead arise from Islam. 

Biblical scholar and pastor, John MacArthur, describes the Muslims’ long-awaited savior, who is called the Mahdi:  “He is the establisher of the final caliphate…he will come and he will carry on holy war; and either you convert or you’re killed by the Mahdi.  He will have an army.  His army will be a massive army…this army will carry black flags and on those black flags there will be one word, and that one word will be the word, “Punishment…” He will establish his rule in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount….The Mahdi will come riding on a white horse…Saddam Hussein, by the way, painted murals of this Mahdi on a white horse all over Bagdad, and he comes carrying a sword to kill the infidels and…when the Mahdi arrives, he will discover hidden scriptures…somewhere near the Sea of Galilee…(they) will be used by the Mahdi to show the Jews and the Christians they were wrong, that their scriptures were the false scriptures…The Mahdi will be a Messianic figure, he will be a descendant of Mohammed, he will be an unparalleled/unequaled leader, he will come out of a crisis of turmoil, he will take control of the world, he will establish a new world order, he will destroy all who resist him, he will invade many nations, he will make a seven year peace treaty with the Jews, he will conquer Israel and massacre the Jews, he will establish Islamic World Headquarters at Jerusalem, he will rule for seven years, he will establish Islam as the only religion, he will come on a white horse with supernatural power, he will be loved by all people on earth…” ⁵  Sound familiar?

But if the anti-Christ were Muslim, how would he be able to garner the support and trust needed to propel him into the position of world dictator, given the historical clash between Islam and other religions?  Well, let’s assume that many Christians will be raptured prior to the anti-Christ’s reign.  Then let’s assume that he represents himself as being totally non-religious when he entices the whole world, as the master of political intrigue, skilled in double-dealing (Daniel 8:23 correlated in Revelation 13:4). Finally, let’s assume that this subterfuge gives him time to establish and slowly build the power base necessary to achieve his hidden agenda of…converting the world to Islam.  Here’s an “out-there-yet-still-theoretically-possible” example:  what if he were the product of an ethno-religious mixed marriage—between an Israeli and a Palestinian—who pawned himself off as being non-observantly secular?  He could lull everyone into a false sense of security for three and a half years until he was ready.  

“When the Antichrist demands worship, he will reveal his true identity to many.  The mask will fall and many eyes will open…(Although Islam surely does not allow for the worship of any man) an utter determination to believe in the legitimacy of the Mahdi and Islam will overwhelm them…In allowing the Mahdi to be “revealed,” God will be showing great mercy to the followers of Islam.  When the Antichrist is revealed, Islam itself will be fully “unveiled.”  This will be a final demonstration of God’s wonderful ability to turn even the most horrific time in history into an opportunity for multitudes to find repentance.”⁶

That’s a 21^st Century, Decade Two scenario. 😊

So is the anti-Christ among us today?  Whether we do care, or may care, or might care, or should care, or could care less…we know that we can cast whatever cares we have on God because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)  If the anti-Christ is among us, my theory is that believers will not be fooled by him, or any agenda that he might be able to force-feed the world.  He’s not going to fool a single one of God’s children. 

1 John 2:18-20:  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.  But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

When John wrote this scripture in the first century, he considered it to be the last hour, or (Greek: eschatē hōra) final era.  We’re still in it—and that means that our reality as we know it is coming to an end.  I believe this will happen sooner, rather than later…

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book…And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be…And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely…He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  Rev 22:7-20

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¹Mark L. Hitchcock, Is the Antichrist Alive Today (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 2002), 89.

²Ibid., 89-90.

³Billy Graham Website:  /answer/istheantichristalivetoday/

⁴Catholic Culture Website:  /culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=7705

⁵youtube:  /watch?v=2sci_WFp8ec

⁶Joel Richardson, The Islamic Antichrist (Los Angeles, CA:  WND Books, 2009), 161-165.

⁵youtube:  /watch?v=2sci_WFp8ec

⁶Joel Richardson, The Islamic Antichrist (Los Angeles, CA:  WND Books, 2009), 161-165.