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 2:18

We are seeing an anti-Christian mentality become more popular and more widely accepted in our nation today. It is one thing when it is in an Islamic country where Christians are executed for simply believing in Jesus. But it is another thing when the persecution of Christians is happening in a country that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. It is another thing when this anti-Christian bias is happening in the United States of America—and indeed it is.

Here is something to consider. Though we do not know whether the Antichrist himself is alive today, there are antichrists, plural. This term “Antichrist” is actually not used in the book of Revelation, though it refers to the person. The very term is found in 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.”

Even now, many antichrists have come. . . . John goes on to say, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us . . .” (verse 19).

This is interesting. The question to ask yourself is not Who is the Antichrist? Rather, the question to ask yourself is, Am I antichrist? So who is antichrist? According to John, it is someone who once made a profession of faith but has since turned their back on God. That is antichrist behavior.

Are you living that way? Have you put something or someone else in His place? Are you opposing Him in some way? Have you cut yourself off from other believers and effectively turned your back on God? If so, then you could be antichrist.