Antichrist In Second Temple Judaism And Early Christian Apocalypse - Source Excerpt 02 - Early Christian Writings and Apocalypses
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- **4 Ezra (2 Esdras, ca.100 CE, Jewish Apocalypse)** – In this Latin apocalypse (likely Jewish-authored), Ezra sees apocalyptic visions. Chapters 11–12 depict beasts and Messiah figures: a fiery eagle with three heads (east, north, west) appears (11:1–4), later identified by Ezra as the Roman Empire. A lion-like Messiah (often equated with Jesus) then slays this “host of Sodom.” K.J. de Jonge notes that “the tyrant is also palpable” in 4 Ezra 11–12: a multi-headed eagle beast (a hybrid of Daniel’s beasts) is “vigorously opposed and indicted by a lion-like creature” (Ezra 11:37–45)【71†L1-L4】. While 4 Ezra emphasizes this beast’s defeat (and the coming Messiahs), it does not explicitly label it Antichrist. Rather, it recycles Danielic apocalyptic imagery into its own schema.
- **2 Baruch (Syriac Baruch, ca.135 CE)** – Similar to 4 Ezra, this Jewish apocalypse (after the 70 CE temple destruction) outlines four successive kingdoms. Chapter 73 prophesies the final kingdom as “the king of gloom and fear,” who rules briefly and then dies (Baruch 73:3). Baruch does not give this figure a clear name or tie him to a mythic Antichrist, but it clearly envisions a culminating tyrant before God’s final intervention. The emphasis is on God rescuing Israel and raising a true Messiah (Baruch 34:1–9) rather than on the specifics of the villain.
## Early Christian Writings and Apocalypses
- **Pauline Epistles (2 Thessalonians 2, ca. 50–100 CE)** – Writing to a Christian community anxious about Christ’s return, Paul (or a deutero-Pauline author) warns that a **“man of lawlessness”** (Greek: *ho anthrōpos tēs anomias*) will appear before the Parousia (2 Thess 2:3–10). This figure, also called *“son of perdition”*, will exalt himself as God, sit in God’s temple, and perform false signs by Satan’s power【30†L669-L676】. Crucially, Paul assures the Thessalonians that this eschatological tyrant is not yet revealed but will be when the **Restrainer** is removed. The passage culminates by stating that Christ will slay him with “the breath of His mouth” and destroy him by the revelation of His coming (2 Thess 2:8). Many scholars see clear allusions to Daniel 7–9 (the abomination and persecution) and Isaiah 11:4 (“breath of His lips”) in Paul’s description. Thus the Pauline Antichrist (ἄνθρωπος ἀνομίας) is a personal opponent of God’s people, framed as a cosmic rebellion.
- **Johannine Epistles (1–2 John, ca. 90–100 CE)** – These letters use *ἀντίχριστος* (“antichrist”) explicitly. 1 John 2:18 warns: “It is the last hour; and just as you heard that *antichrist* is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know it is the last hour.” John uses “antichrists” for present false teachers denying Jesus’s messiahship (2:22–23, 4:3), but also expects “the Antichrist” to come. Lietaert Peerbolte notes that John is ambivalent: the community hears multiple antichrists already active, and anticipates a final one【57†L12-L20】. Polycarp (early 2nd c.) similarly refers to “the Antichrist” in the singular as anyone who denies Jesus’s incarnation (Allude to 1 John 4:3 in 2nd Epistle of Polycarp). In Johannine thought, the antichrist motif is more spiritual/doctrinal than political: antichrists are “liars” and “deceivers” who deny the Father and Son【57†L25-L30】. Still, by linking them to the “last hour,” the epistles echo apocalyptic expectancy.
- **Revelation of John (c.95 CE, Apocalyptic Prophecy)** – Revelation presents a highly symbolic adversary scene. The Dragon (Satan) gives power to a **Beast from the sea** (7 heads, 10 horns) and a **Beast from the earth** (false prophet) (Rev 13:1–11). These figures are not named “Antichrist,” but function as a triad of evil opposite Christ and his people. The first Beast’s description explicitly echoes Daniel’s four beasts (e.g. one beast with seven heads is “undoubtedly a pastiche of the four beasts” of Dan 7【72†L7-L10】), and its blasphemous claims recall Paul’s lawless one. Revelation’s beasts remain active for symbolic periods (“42 months”), seducing the world and persecuting the saints. Ultimately Christ destroys them (Rev 19). Traditional exegesis sees John’s beasts as coded references to the Roman Empire (the seven-headed beast) and its cults. For example, Revelation 13:18’s 666 is widely understood as a numerical cipher for Emperor Nero【75†L1-L4】. The author’s star imagery (Leviathan in Job/Ps) and imperial critiques (Babylon = Rome) show how Roman imperialism is demonized. Thus, Revelation’s Antichrist motif is cosmic and politico-religious: the Beast is the antitype of both Satan and a Caesar-world ruler.
- **Shepherd of Hermas (c.90 CE, Visionary Allegory)** – A Christian prophecy from Rome, Hermas contains visions (similitudes) about the state of the Church. It vividly describes the Church as a tower built of various stones, symbolizing true and false Christians. While it warns against sin and false prophets (“men without shoulders” in Similitude 3), it does **not** name an Antichrist figure. Its focus is internal ethics and repentance, not eschatological opponents. Thus it contributes little to the Antichrist tradition beyond echoing the need to avoid deception.
- **Apocalypse of Peter (c.150 CE, Vision of Heaven/Hell)** – This Christian apocalypse (Coptic fragment) describes rewards/punishments in the afterlife. It briefly mentions an impending “Antichrist” who will persecute believers, then be destroyed in the Parousia (gospels usually give details). The text’s commentaries note that 1 John 2:22–23 and 4:3 align with Apocalypse of Peter 2:10–13: both present a singular and plural Antichrist. However, Apoc. Peter treats the Antichrist primarily as a persecutor who denies Christ, not detailing his cosmic attributes. It also reflects early debates (it seems to conflate Bar Cochba with Antichrist). Overall, it preserves the idea of an anti-Messiah figure, but does not elaborate it.
- **Apocalypse of Paul (Visio Pauli, 4th cent. CE)** – This later (probably 4th/5th cent. CE) Christian visionary text, describing Paul’s journey through heaven and hell, mentions the Antichrist once as a future persecutor (1 Apoc. of Paul 27:1). It largely repeats New Testament imagery (2 Thess., Rev) but is too late and derivative to add new motifs.
- **Didache (c.80–100 CE, Church Manual)** – Chapter 16 of the Didache summarizes eschatology: it warns of false prophets and deceptive signs, then says “the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume by the breath of His mouth” (Didache 16:3; citing Isaiah/2 Thess 2)【30†L669-L676】. In other words, the “lawless one” concept from 2 Thessalonians enters Didache as the immediate eschatological enemy. The Didache doesn’t add new traits, but it shows how Paul's *man of sin* tradition circulated in early church teaching.
## Comparative Motifs
Across these texts, certain motifs recur under different names:
- **Messianic Opponent**: Many Jewish sources portray an **antimessiah** as a king or priest-king. Daniel’s *little horn* (Dan 7:8,25) and *abomination* (Dan 11:31) oppose God and His anointed; Psalms of Solomon 17:11–24 explicitly laments a “wicked, godless” usurper and prays for the true Davidic king【44†L30-L39】. The *Testaments* and Sibylline Oracles similarly expect a blasphemous king (SibOr 8:74–126 calls him Beliar) who will eventually be judged. These characters are often associated with *antimessianism*: they reject the Covenant and threaten Israel’s future.
- **Cosmic Evil**: Other figures are essentially embodiments of evil. In 1 Enoch and Qumran, **Belial** (aka *Beliar*, Satan) is a fallen angel who leads evil spirits (“angels of destruction” walking in darkness)【70†L37-L45】. Revelation’s Dragon and the Leviathan-like beast likewise symbolize primeval chaos allied with God’s foes. These adversaries often have broad cosmic roles: e.g. Belial as “angel of darkness” and “contentious” rebel【70†L37-L45】, the Dragon as deceiver of the nations. Psalm 74:14 (“You crushed the heads of Leviathan”) prefigures Revelation’s beasts destroyed by God. This cosmic evil axis emphasizes the spiritual war behind history.
- **Terminology**: New Testament authors coin terms: *Antichristos* (1–2 John) literally means “against Christ” or “in place of Christ.” *Son of perdition* (Greek: *huios tēs apōleias*, 2 Thess 2:3) echoes Judas’ fate (John 17:12). *Man of sin/iniquity* (*anthrōpos tēs anomias*) emphasizes lawlessness (2 Thess). *Beast/dragon* (Rev 13–20) becomes emblematic. Jewish texts speak of an *impious one* or *Beliar* (Belial) whose Greek form even appears in Sibylline Oracles. The “little horn” and “lion” metaphors in Daniel/Enoch are adapted: e.g. 4 Ezra’s lion-Messiah vs. eagle-beast. In some Testaments the title “lawless one” (Greek *anomos*) also appears (Levi 5:7 warns of “lawless men”). Over time, these terms shift from describing corrupt individuals (lawless king) to cosmic agents (Antichrist).