Antichrist

For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.

For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.

For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.

Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this?

And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way,

and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming.

The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders,

and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.

For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie,

so that all will be condemned  — those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.

Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour.

Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names.

The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.

One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.

They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”

The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.

It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling — those who dwell in heaven.

And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.

If anyone is to be taken captive, into captivity he goes. If anyone is to be killed with a sword, with a sword he will be killed. This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints.

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people.

It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

And it makes everyone — small and great, rich and poor, free and slave — to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,

so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.

This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.

But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.