The Tribulation and the Antichrist

John tells us that “many antichrists have already appeared” (1 John 2:18). Similarly, 2 Thessalonians 2:7 says that “the mystery of lawlessness” spoken of by the prophet Daniel is already at work. These passages point to the inaugurated aspect of the deception of the antichrist whose ultimate deception awaits a future consummation.

The eschatological deception mentioned in the above passages is part of the eschatological tribulation that has already been inaugurated. The nature of the eschatological tribulation during the church age is one in which believers are undergoing deceptive influence which seeks to negatively influence them so that they do not believe in Christ and His Word (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). This is evidenced in John’s exhortation to believers which stresses a love that grows out of and expresses itself in a right understanding of Jesus’ person and death thereby protecting them from false teaching (1 Jn 4:1-18). This explains John’s emphasis on “love in truth” (1 John 3:18; 2 John 1:3; 3 John 1:1). This temptation for believers to embrace deception is a temptation to commit covenant-community apostasy.

This end-time deception is a reproduction of the deception which characterized the beginning of history with the first Adam. Thus John refers to the devil as the one who “has sinned from the beginning” (1 John 3:8). John's allusions to Genesis 3 provide further evidence that the end-time satanic deception will be like the deception of Adam and Eve in the garden. John alludes to Genesis 3 in his mention of “Cain” (1 John 3:12), “seed” (1 John 3:9), and “deception” (1 John 3:7).

The Epistle of Barnabas may also provide a precedent for an early tradition that would support the idea of an end-time typological reproduction of Satan’s original deception. The author ascribes these words to the Lord, “Behold, I will make the last things like the first” (Barnabas 6:13). So just as the new creation is inaugurated in the resurrection of Christ and in the believer’s unity with the resurrected Christ, so too the end-time tribulation has been inaugurated so that believers in the church age wrestle against the satanic deception that took place in the beginning and will achieve its consummation in the antichrist.

In light of these things, an understanding of Satan’s first deception may shed light on the nature of the eschatological deception about which the New Testament authors speak. To this end we should note that Satan’s original deception was one in which he deceived Adam and Even into breaking their covenant relationship with God. He accomplished this by telling Eve that she could achieve a deeper level of knowledge and enlightenment (Genesis 3:5). The reason that Satan was able to succeed in this was because Eve either did not know God’s Word well enough, or she did not esteem it highly enough. Satan deceived them about their own marital relationship (not to remember God’s Word together); he deceived them about the judgment of God (that it would not occur); he deceived them about the lethal danger of Satan himself; and he deceived them into believing that evil was good (also see 2 Corinthians 11:13-14). The end-time deception of the antichrist will likely take similar shape.