Character of Those Who Oppose Christ's Return

The New Testament identifies those who oppose Christ's return primarily through their denial of his incarnation and their active deception of believers. John's second epistle states plainly: "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist" ^[2]. This refusal to acknowledge Christ's physical coming serves as the defining mark of antichrist, a term that literally means "an adversary to Christ" ^[3].

Doctrinal Denial as Opposition

The opposition to Christ manifests first in theological error. Those who deny the Father and the Son, who reject the incarnation of Christ, bear the spirit of antichrist ^[4]. This denial was already prevalent in apostolic times, as John warned the early church ^[4]. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary notes that "he who denies Christ's coming in the flesh, denies the possibility of the incarnation" ^[5], making this not merely a peripheral error but a fundamental rejection of Christian truth. Clement and the early fathers described such opponents as "advocates of death rather than of the truth," noting that they were not persuaded by the prophets, the law of Moses, or the Gospel itself ^[9].

Moral Corruption and Enmity

Beyond doctrinal deviation, these opponents display characteristic moral corruption. Paul's catalog in Romans includes those who are "haters of God, doers of wrong, proud, boasters, bringers up of evil things, disobedient to father and mother" ^[1]. John Gill observes that Christ's enemies were "not only corrupt by nature, as all men are, but were men of corrupt minds in their tenets and principles; who corrupted the word of God by their traditions" ^[7]. This corruption extends to their practices, as they become "corrupters of others" ^[7].

The historical opponents of Christ and his apostles demonstrated implacable enmity. The priests who confronted the early church "had evidenced the most implacable enmity against Christ from the beginning" ^[10]. The Sadducees joined this opposition because "their whole system was now in danger by the preaching of the resurrection of Christ" ^[10], revealing how opposition often stems from perceived threats to established religious systems.

Deceptive Methods

Deceit characterizes those who oppose Christ's return. John Gill describes false teachers as "deceitful workers, pretending to be ministers of Christ, to have a value for truth, a love for souls, and a view to the glory of God, but lie in wait to deceive, and handle the word of God deceitfully" ^[8]. Their number is significant—"many"—making them likely to cause substantial harm ^[8]. The spirit of antichrist operates through this systematic deception, which was already widespread in the apostolic period ^[4].

Blasphemy and Reproach

The prophetic tradition identifies these opponents through their blasphemous speech. Antichrist is given "a mouth speaking blasphemies," which he opens "in blasphemy against God, attributing that to himself which belongs to God; blaspheming his name, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" ^[11]. These opponents are properly called "the enemy and avenger," titles that capture both their hostility toward Christ and their vengeful disposition toward his people ^[11].

Matthew Henry observes that hatred itself serves as "the character and genius of the devil's kingdom, as love is of the kingdom of Christ" ^[6]. Those who oppose Christ's return belong to "the world, the children of this world, as distinguished from the children of God; those who are in the interests of the god of this world, whose image they bear" ^[6]. Their opposition stems not from honest disagreement but from fundamental allegiance to a kingdom built on hatred rather than love.

Sources

Romans “Romans 1:30 (Tyndale) — backbyters haters of God doers of wroge proude bosters bringers vp of evyll thinges disobedient to father and mother”
II John “II John 1:7 (BSB) — For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Antichrist — an adversary to Christ”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Antichrist — Denies the Father and the Son -- 1Jo 2:22. Denies the incarnation of Christ -- 1Jo 4:3; 2Jo 1:7. Spirit of, prevalent in apostolic times -- 1Jo 2:18. Deceit, a characteristic of -- 2Jo 1:7.”
2 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 John 1:7: As love and truth go hand in hand (Jo2 1:3-4), he feels it needful to give warning against teachers of untruth. For--giving the reason why he dwelt on truth and on love, which manifests itself in keeping God's commandments (Jo2 1:6). many-- (Jo1 2:18; Jo1 4:1). are entered--The oldest manuscripts read, "have gone forth," namely, from us. confess not . . . Jesus . . . in the flesh--the token of Antichrist. is come--Greek, "coming." He who denies Christ's coming in the flesh, denies the possibility of the incarnation; he who denies that he has c”
John (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on John 15:18: Here Christ discourses concerning hatred, which is the character and genius of the devil's kingdom, as love is of the kingdom of Christ. Observe here, I. Who they are in whom this hatred is found - the world, the children of this world, as distinguished from the children of God; those who are in the interests of the god of this world, whose image they bear, and whose power they are subject to; all those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who would not come into the church of Christ, which he audibly called, and visibly separates from this evil world. The calling of these t”
Deuteronomy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Deuteronomy 32:5: They have corrupted themselves,.... This and what follows may seem to be the characters of the enemies of Christ, who lightly esteemed and rejected him, set in a contrast with him; who were not only corrupt by nature, as all men are, but were men of corrupt minds in their tenets and principles; who corrupted the word of God by their traditions, in the times of Christ; and were men of corrupt practices themselves, and corrupters of others: their spot is not the spot of his children; of the children of the divine Person before described; Christ the rock has "chil”
2 John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 John 1:7: For many deceivers are entered into the world,.... By whom are meant false teachers, who are described by their quality, "deceivers", deceitful workers, pretending to be ministers of Christ, to have a: value for truth, a love for souls, and a view to the glory of God, but lie in wait to deceive, and handle the word of God deceitfully; and by their quantity or number, "many", and so likely to do much mischief; and by the place where they were, they were "entered into the world"; or "gone out into the world", as the Alexandrian copy and some others, and the Vulgate Latin”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 1: Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus — CHAP. V.--THEIR DANGEROUS ERRORS,: Some ignorantly(3) deny Him, or rather have been denied by Him, being the advocates of death rather than of the truth. These persons neither have the prophets persuaded, nor the law of Moses, nor the Gospel even to this day, nor the sufferings we have individually endured. For they think also the same thing regarding us.(4) For what does any one profit me, if he commends me, but blasphemes my Lord, not confessing that He was[truly] possessed of a body?(5) But he who does not a”
Acts (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Acts 4:1: The priests - These persons had evidenced the most implacable enmity against Christ from the beginning. The captain of the temple - See this office particularly explained in the note on Luk 22:4 (note). The Sadducees - Whose whole system was now in danger by the preaching of the resurrection of Christ; for they believed not in the immortality of the soul, nor in any future world. These made a common cause with the priests, etc., to suppress the evidence of Christ's resurrection, and silence the apostles.”
Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 44:16: For the voice, of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth,.... That is, antichrist, to whom a mouth speaking blasphemies has been given, and which he has opened in blasphemy against God, attributing that to himself which belongs to God; blaspheming his name, his tabernacle, and them that well in heaven; see Rev 13:5; by reason of the enemy and avenger; which are very proper characters of antichrist, who is the enemy of Christ and of his people, and breathes out vengeance against them; as the same titles are also given to the Scribes and Pharisees, the implacable enemi”

Ask Your Own Question