There is probably no subject in Sacred Writ that has evoked more passion and opinion than that of the antichrist. People are entitled to their own opinion but not to there own facts. Facts are stubborn things. Facts about Bible matters must be considered by the Bible and the Bible only. There are only four verses in all of Scripture that use the word antichrist. All of them are in the New Testament. In fact, all of them are in the books that John wrote.
All texts quoted from King James Version.
1 John 2:18 "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour".
1 John 2:22 "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son".
1 John 4:3 "And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world".
2 John 1:7 "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist".
The thing that the Catholic Church does to subvert Scripture is to say that the Bible should be interpreted by the church. The individual cannot get an accurate interpretation on his/her own. The church has the ability and responsibility (they say)to interpret for their members. And, tradition (as established by the church)has an equal value in establishing what truth is. The texts above, by themselves, do not establish who the antichrist is. But, Bible truth is established by comparing Scripture with Scripture, not by another human being telling you what the truth is!
We pause for an important point. Tradition became equal to Scripture in the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent, which was held in the 1500s to refute the Protestant Reformation.
This is the pertinent quote from Archbishop Reggio: "The PROTESTANTS claim to stand upon "the written word only" -- they profess to hold the SCRIPTURE ALONE as the standard point fo faith. The justify their revolt by the plea that the church has apostatized from the written word and follows TRADITION. Now the protestants' claim, that they stand upon the written word only, IS NOT TRUE. Their profession of hodlding "the scripture alone as the standard of faith" is FALSE!
THE PROOF: The written word explictly enjoins the observance of the Seventh Day as the Sabbath. They do NOT observe the seventh day, but REJECT IT! If they do truely hold the scriptures alone as their standard, they would be observing the Seventh Day as in enjoined in the scripture throughout! Yet they now only REJECT THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH ENJOINED IN THE WRITTEN WORD, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of SUNDAY, for which they have ONLY THE TRADITION OF THE CHURCH... Consequently the claim of "scripture alone as the standard" FAILS, and the doctrine of "scripture and TRADITION" as essential, is FULLY ESTABLISHED, THE PROTESTANTS THEMSELVES BEING THE JUDGES!
Isaiah 28:9 "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk,
and drawn from the breasts.
10. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little:
11. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people".
However, Catholic statements on the Word of God are quite alarming. For example:
"Side by side with Scripture there is tradition, side by side with the written revelation there is the oral revelation".
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15006b.htm
"Why is Tradition important? Well, for starters, people who translate the bible into their vernacular might want to put
their particular spin on a verse, like Luther did with Romans 3:28".
http://www.catholicbible101.com/sacredtradition.htm
http://www.catholicbible101.com/sacredtradition.htm
"The Catholic Church guarantees the faithful handing on of the Word of God through the teaching authority of the Pope
and his Bishops, known as the Magesterium. The Magesterium ensures that no new erroneous doctrine or heresy pops up
to lead the people astray".
http://www.catholicbible101.com/sacredtradition.htm
The most important point in relation to Scripture is one that was emphasized in the Protestant Reformation, starting with Martin Luther in particular. The Latin term is 'Sola Scriptura'. According to Wikopedia, Sola Scriptura is a "Christian theological doctrine which holds that the Christian Scriptures are the supreme authority in all matters of doctrine and practice. Sola scriptura does not deny that other authorities govern Christian life and devotion, but sees them all as subordinate to and corrected by the written word of God". This is the essence of Luther's definition as well. The church has NO RIGHT to interpret Scripture for the individual. The individual Christian is obligated to interpret for him/herself! That idea is still supported by the Bible!