The Anti-Christ, Person Or Spirit?

Q

I know that today the name Anti-Christ is associated with the “son of perdition” mentioned in the book of Revelation, but no where do I find that “title” referred to by John the Revelator. The Apostle Paul spoke of “Anti Christ” as more or less a “spirit” and NOT an actual being. Please clarify our use of this title directed towards an “individual” when associated with the end times and the book of Revelation.

A

You’ve received some incorrect information. By some counts there are 42 titles in the Bible that refer to the one we know as the anti-Christ. The phrase actually comes from 1 John 4:3 and refers to a spirit of denial concerning who Jesus is. Even so, “anti-Christ” became the most popular name for this end times leader. In 2 Thes. 2:3-4 Paul spoke of “that man of sin, the son of perdition” as a man who would stand in the Temple and proclaim himself to be God. He was referring to the anti-Christ.

In the Revelation, John calls the anti-Christ a beast (Rev. 13:1-10) and again the context of this and similar passages in Revelation indicate a man rather than a spirit.