[an-ti-krahyst] 
| 1. | a particular personage or power, variously identified or explained, who is conceived of as appearing in the world as the principal antagonist of Christ. |
| 2. | (sometimes lowercase ) an opponent of Christ; a person or power antagonistic to Christ. |
| 3. | (often lowercase) a disbeliever in Christ. |
| 4. | (often lowercase) a false Christ. |
| an·ti·christ (ān'tĭ-krīst', ān'tī-) n.
[Middle English Antecrist, from Old French and from Old English, both from Late Latin Antichrīstus, from Late Greek Antikhrīstos : Greek anti-, anti- + Greek Khrīstos, Christ; see Christ.] |
A person mentioned in the New Testament as an enemy of Jesus, who will appear before the Second Coming and win over many of Jesus' followers. The Antichrist is often identified with a beast described in the Book of Revelation, whom God destroys just before the final defeat of Satan.
Note: Since the New Testament was written, people have frequently tried to prove that an individual human being was the Antichrist. Some of the candidates have been the Roman emperors Nero and Caligula and the modern dictators Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
Antichrist
against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7), "Even now are there many antichrists." (1.) This name has been applied to the "little horn" of the "king of fierce countenance" (Dan. 7:24, 25; 8:23-25). (2.) It has been applied also to the "false Christs" spoken of by our Lord (Matt. 24:5, 23, 24). (3.) To the "man of sin" described by Paul (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8-10). (4.) And to the "beast from the sea" (Rev. 13:1; 17:1-18).
