Interpreting 1 John 2:22

Q. 1 John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist — he denies the Father and the Son.”

What is the meaning of “such a man is the antichrist” in this verse? Is this the spirit of the antichrist as said elsewhere? Or something else?

A. In response to their belief that the anti-Christ is coming, John said that many anti-Christs had already come. He explained that he was talking about false teachers, then he applied the title to everyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Finally he said that such a person would deny both Father and Son. (1 John 2:18-22) He was speaking figuratively, not literally, saying these people have the spirit of anti-Christ.

Jesus used a similar figure of speech in Mark 3:35 when He said that anyone who does God’s will is His mother or brother or sister.