This latter point signals the first of the tensions inherent in Antichrist’s biography, between the Antichrist of the future yet to come and the many Antichrists already present. Timewise, as 1 John 2 testifies, he has both come into the world, and will yet come again. He could be a tyrant threatening the Church from without, such as an emperor, or, more troubling, Jews or he might be a deceiver corrupting the Church from within - the popes feature often. Insofar as there is any degree of consensus, he is not the devil, but they are definitely working in tandem to thwart Christ and Christianity. The three questions are these: who is the Antichrist? where is he to be found (and it is invariably a “he”)? and when was he, or when will he be, active - or is he now? It takes many twists and turns, but essentially it boils down to three questions, three tensions, three wrong turnings - and one conclusion. The story so far lasts 2000 years, from New Testament times to the secular speculations of The Omen and Left Behind. He does so with characteristic clarity and lightly worn learning. AFTER biographies of God and the Devil, Philip Almond now turns his attention to the Antichrist.
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