He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hands for a time and times and half a time. Dan. 7:25.
That day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. 1 John 2:18.
They worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for fortytwo months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. Rev. 13:4–7.
He shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High, will venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us Christians. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.253, 254.
By means of the events that will occur in the time of the Antichrist, it is shown that he, being an apostate and a robber, is anxious to be worshipped as God. . . . For he is endowed with all of the power of the devil. He will come—not as a righteous king, nor as a legitimate king in subjection to God—but as an unholy, unjust, and lawless one. . . . He will set aside idols to persuade men that he himself is God. . . . Daniel, foresaw the end of the last kingdom (of the ten last kings), among whom the kingdom of those men will be partitioned and upon whom the son of perdition will come. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/ W), 1.553.
When he comes, he will reign over the earth for three years and six months. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.554.
Jeremiah does not merely point out the Antichrist’s sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he will come, when he says, “We will hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan” [Jer. 8:16]. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/ W), 1.559.
Once this Antichrist has devastated everything in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem. And then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.560.
The deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. . . . Christ is a king, so the Antichrist is also a king. The Savior appeared as a lamb. So he, too, in like manner, will appear as a lamb, though within he is a wolf. The Savior came into the world in the circumcision, and the Antichrist will come in the same manner. The Lord sent apostles among all the nations, and he in like manner will send false apostles. The Savior gathered together the sheep that were scattered abroad. And he, in like manner, will bring together a people who are scattered abroad. . . . The Savior raised up and showed His holy flesh like a temple, and he will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem. Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.206.
He says, “Dan is a lion’s whelp” [Deut. 33:22]. And in naming the tribe of Dan, he clearly declared the tribe from which the Antichrist is destined to spring. Just as Christ comes from the tribe of Judah, so the Antichrist is to come from the tribe of Dan. Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.207.
By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of the Antichrist. And by the two horns, he means him and the false prophet after him. . . . He will act with vigor again and prove strong by reason of the laws established by him. And he will cause all those who will not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. . . . Being full of guile and exalting himself against the servants of God, he desires to afflict them and persecute them out of the world, for they do not give glory to him. He will order censers to be set up by everyone, everywhere, so that none of the saints may be able to buy or sell without first sacrificing. For this is what is meant by the mark received upon the right hand. And the phrase, “on their forehead,” indicates that all are crowned and put on a crown of fire—of death, not of life. Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.214.
Let us look also at his actions. He will call together all the people to himself, out of every country of the Dispersion, making them his own, as though they were his own children. He will promise to restore their country and reestablish their kingdom and nation, in order that he may be worshipped by them as God. Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.215.
After sixty-two weeks, the times will be fulfilled, and for one week he will make a covenant with many. And in the midst of the week, sacrifice and oblation will be removed.” . . . For when the sixty-two weeks are fulfilled, and Christ has come, and the Gospel has been preached in every place, the times will then be accomplished. Then, there will remain only one week—the last—in which Elijah and Enoch will appear. And in the middle of it, the abomination of desolation will be manifested. This is the Antichrist, announcing desolation to the world. And when he comes, the sacrifice and oblation will be removed, which now are offered to God in every place by the nations. Hippolytus (c. 205, W), 5.182.
The prophet sets forth these things concerning the Antichrist, who will be shameless, a war-monger, and a despot. Exalting himself above all kings and above every god, he will build the city of Jerusalem and restore the sanctuary. Hippolytus (c. 205, W), 5.184.
“For a time, times, and a half.” By this, he indicated the three and a half years of the Antichrist. Hippolytus (c. 205, W), 5.190.
After the destruction of the Antichrist, there will be speedily transacted the great process of the resurrection. Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.565.
He himself will divide the globe into three ruling powers, when Nero will be raised up from Hades. Elijah will first come to seal the beloved ones. At these things, the region of Africa and the northern nation, the whole earth on all sides, will tremble for seven years. But Elijah will occupy the half of the time; and Nero will occupy the other half. Then the embers of the whore Babylon, being reduced to ashes, will advance to Jerusalem. And the Latin conqueror will then say, “I am Christ, whom you always pray to.” . . . He does many wonders, since the false prophet is his. That they may believe him, his image will speak. The Almighty has given it power to appear as such. The Jews, recapitulating Scriptures from him, exclaim at the same time to the highest that they have been deceived. Commodianus (c. 240, W), 4.211.
Celsus [the pagan critic] rejects the statements concerning the Antichrist (as he is called). That is because he has not read what is said of him in the Book of Daniel, nor in the writings of Paul, nor what the Savior has predicted in the Gospels about his coming. . . . Paul states the following: . . . “so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” This same fact is referred to in Daniel in the following manner: “And on the temple will be the abomination of desolations. And at the end of the time, an end will be put to the desolation” [Dan. 11:31]. Origen (c. 248, E), 4.593, 594.
Even the Antichrist, when he begins to come, will not be allowed to enter into the church just because he threatens. We will not yield to his arms and violence, even though he declares that he will destroy us if we resist. . . . They [i.e., the schismatics] endeavor to imitate the coming of the Antichrist, who is now approaching. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.346.
Beloved brethren, let none of you be so terrified by the fear of future persecution or the coming of the threatening Antichrist, so as not to be found armed for all things by the evangelical exhortations and precepts, as well as by the heavenly warnings. The Antichrist is coming. Yet, above him, comes Christ also. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.349.
The Antichrist will come as a man. Isaiah says, “This is the man who arouses the earth, who disturbs kings, who makes the whole earth a desert” [Isa. 14:16]. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.556.
“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God.” He speaks of Elijah the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of the Antichrist—for the restoration and establishment of the churches from the great and intolerable persecution. Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.352.
They must be slain by the Antichrist. . . . “And their dead bodies will lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.” He calls Jerusalem “Sodom and Egypt,” for it will have become the heaping up of the persecuting people. Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.354, 355.
By this name [666], we understand the Antichrist. Although he is cut off from the divine light and deprived of it, he nevertheless transforms himself into an angel of light, daring to call himself light. Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.356.
But that king . . . will also be a prophet of lies. He will constitute and call himself God. And he will order himself to be worshipped as the Son of God. And power will be given him to do signs and wonders, the sight of which will entice men to worship him. . . . Then he will attempt to destroy the temple of God and persecute the righteous people. And there will be distress and tribulation, such as there never has been from the beginning of the world. All those who believe him and unite themselves to him will be marked by him as sheep. But those who refuse his mark will either flee to the mountains, or, being seized, will be slain with deliberate tortures. . . . Power will be given him to desolate the whole earth for forty-two months. . . . .
When these things happen, then the righteous and the followers of truth will separate themselves from the wicked and flee into solitary places. And when he hears of this, the unholy king, inflamed with anger, will come with a great army, and bringing up all his forces, will surround all the mountain in which the righteous are situated, so that he may seize them. But they . . . will call upon God with a loud voice. . . . And God will hear them and send from heaven a great king to rescue and free them. And He will destroy all the wicked with fire and sword. . . .
Christ will descend with a company of angels to the middle of the earth. And an unquenchable fire will go before Him. And the power of the angels will deliver into the hands of the just that multitude that has surrounded the mountain. . . . After all his forces have been destroyed, the wicked one will escape alone. His power will perish with him. Now, this is the one who is called the Antichrist. However, he will falsely call himself Christ and will fight against the truth. Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.215; extended discussion: 5.204–5.219, 4.593–4.595.