Before Christ Returns, the Antichrist Will Come - and He Will Look Like a Savior

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

- 2 Thess 2:3 (ESV)

Imagine this: the world in chaos. Wars, epidemics, the collapse of institutions. And suddenly someone appears with the right words. He speaks of peace, unity, renewal. He does things that look like miracles. Christians - those who have been waiting years for Christ’s return - fall to their knees.

It isn’t Him.

But how are they supposed to know, if no one warned them? If their whole lives they heard: “wait for Him” - but never: “be careful not to welcome someone else”?

God’s people have already welcomed a false messiah before. And it wasn’t a small, fringe group. They were devout Jews who knew the Scriptures, longing for deliverance. History repeats itself. And the Bible warns us plainly.

You’re Waiting for Him - and That’s Exactly the Danger

Eschatological tension in itself is not a sin. Expecting Christ’s return is a biblical posture. The problem arises when that expectation becomes emotional, feverish, and stripped of concrete knowledge about what is to happen and in what order.

Someone who intensely awaits a savior is more vulnerable to deception than someone who is not waiting at all. A paradox? No. A psychological mechanism. When you desperately want something and that desire overrides discernment - you start fitting reality to a pattern instead of testing the pattern against reality.

The Order of Events - What the Bible Says Plainly

Jesus, Asked “When,” Answers with a Warning About Deception

This is one of the most telling details in all of New Testament eschatology, and it almost always goes unnoticed.

The disciples came to Jesus with a specific question. They’re asking about a date and a timeline:

Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

- Matt 24:3 (ESV)

And what does Jesus answer?

See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and they will lead many astray.

- Matt 24:4-5 (ESV)

He doesn’t answer the question about “when.” Instead of a calendar, He gives a warning. He could have said: “it will happen in so many years.” He could have started with signs - earthquakes, wars, celestial events. Instead, He does something entirely different: He changes the subject.

Before giving anything remotely like a timeline, before speaking a single word about signs or a schedule - He immediately redirects to a warning against deception. He knew that this very eschatological tension - that burning longing for the end and the return - would be the greatest opening through which the deceiver would enter. And instead of satisfying the curiosity, Christ turns it into a warning.

This is deliberate. He is saying: what matters more than knowing when is knowing what to guard against. And that is what He puts first.

2 Thess 2:1-12 - Paul Makes It Clear

Paul was writing to Christians in Thessalonica who had panicked. Someone had told them - by letter or by word of mouth - that “the day of the Lord has already come.” They were convinced they had missed the Parousia. What did Paul tell them?

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

- 2 Thess 2:1-4 (ESV)

Paul gives them not just comfort but a timetable. The answer is: you couldn’t have missed the Parousia, because first something else must happen. The sequence is clear: apostasy - the revealing of “the man of lawlessness” - then Christ’s return.

This isn’t theological speculation. This is a correction of an error that had already surfaced: that Christ could return at any moment, without any preceding signs. Paul denies this. The Bible has a schedule. And that schedule begins with the antichrist.

Matt 24:23-27 - Jesus Describes What His Return Will NOT Look Like

Jesus not only warns against deception - He provides a concrete contrast between the false and the true coming:

Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There he is!” do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, “Look, he is in the wilderness,” do not go out. If they say, “Look, he is in the inner rooms,” do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

- Matt 24:23-27 (ESV)

The key: Christ’s true return will not be private, local, or gradual. It will not require you to go somewhere, to listen to someone, to make a decision based on someone else’s account. It will be like lightning - seen simultaneously by all, requiring no mediator.

If anyone ever tells you “He is here” - this is the verse that answers them.

Mark 13:22 - Even the Elect Are at Risk

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

- Mark 13:22 (ESV)

Jesus did not say: “no one will be deceived.” He said: “if possible, even the elect.” This sentence should stop us in our tracks. He isn’t talking about cold, indifferent Christians. He’s talking about those who truly belong to God. If they are at risk - so are you.

Who This Man Will Be

Revelation 13 - a System, Not Just a Person

It’s a mistake to think of the antichrist exclusively as one sinister individual with horns and hooves. The Bible presents something more complex - and therefore more dangerous.

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads (…) And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast.

- Rev 13:1-4 (ESV)

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon (…) It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth.

- Rev 13:11-14 (ESV)

Two beasts: one representing political power, the other religious. The second one looks like a lamb. It says what you want to hear. It performs miracles. No one sees horns. No one hears a dragon’s voice - because it’s covered by words that sound devout.

The antichrist’s system will not come draped in evil. It will come draped in the appearance of good.

2 Thess 2:9-10 - Miracles That Appear Divine

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

- 2 Thess 2:9-10 (ESV)

Jesus himself warned: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you’” (Matt 7:22-23). Miracles can come from God - or from Satan. That’s why the biblical test of teaching has never been the miracle itself, but conformity to Scripture.

What He Will Look Like - the Profile of a Deceiver

He will speak about God. He will invoke Him, he will use biblical language, he may even perform things that look like signs. He will not come as an open enemy of faith - he will come as someone who is on our side. And that is precisely what will make him so difficult to recognize.

But his fruit will be rotten. Following him will lead not toward Scripture but away from it - toward obedience to him instead of God, toward loyalty to his vision instead of repentance from sin. Where a true messenger of God leads to the cross, this man will slowly, convincingly, in beautiful words, lead away from it.

And this is precisely Satan’s greatest deception. He doesn’t come as an enemy - he comes as a savior. He doesn’t attack faith - he pretends to fulfill it. He doesn’t fight the longing for Christ - he hijacks it. There is one goal: that those who spent their whole lives waiting for the Lord would welcome someone else with open arms, in full conviction that it is finally Him.

Why Christians Are Especially Vulnerable

Eschatological Fever

When eschatological tension peaks - when “signs of the end” seem to be everywhere, when preachers say “it’s happening now,” when books and films about the apocalypse break sales records - fertile ground is created for a deceiver. Not among the indifferent. Among the zealous.

The mechanism is simple: someone who intensely searches for a pattern will begin to find it. “This fits the prophecy. That fits. He must be the one we’ve been waiting for.” Pattern-matching replaces critical thinking.

Exhaustion from Evil

Paul describes another mechanism that is simultaneously a warning and a judgment:

…with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

- 2 Thess 2:10-12 (ESV)

This is one of the most difficult sentences in the New Testament. God sends a delusion to those who refused to love truth. The antichrist’s deception isn’t just the work of Satan - it’s a judgment permitted by God upon those who chose comfort over truth.

When someone spends years listening only to what they want to hear - they are eventually left with that alone. Not alone with themselves: alone with the lie they chose. (For more on how churches systematically omit difficult truths, see my article Sleeping Christianity.)

Emotional Confirmation Instead of Biblical Testing

Moses understood this danger long before the New Testament:

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, “Let us go after other gods,” which you have not known, “and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet.

- Deut 13:1-3 (ESV)

The miracle happens - and the command is: don’t listen. Why? Because the criterion of a true prophet is not the effectiveness of miracles but conformity to God’s Word. Someone who leads away from scriptural truth is a false prophet, even if his miracles are genuine.

Before you believe anyone who claims to speak in God’s name, ask these questions: Are his teachings consistent with the whole of Scripture - not just selected passages? Does he point to Jesus of Nazareth, crucified and risen, or to another figure or idea? Does he require obedience to Scripture, or obedience to himself? Does he call for repentance from sin, or merely loyalty to his vision?

Calvin wrote this in the sixteenth century, observing reform movements in which some preachers presented themselves as inspired messengers. His diagnosis is timeless: zeal without discernment is dangerous.

What Christ’s True Return Will Look Like

The Bible leaves no room for ambiguity here. Christ’s return will not require you to interpret anything - you will simply see it.

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

- Matt 24:27 (ESV)

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

- Rev 1:7 (ESV)

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

- 1 Thess 4:16-17 (ESV)

Lightning. Every eye. The voice of an archangel. A trumpet. Everyone, without exception.

Christ’s true return will not require persuasion or convincing. No one will need to tell you “He is here.” No one will have to urge you to believe. It simply will be.

If you need to be convinced that it’s Him - it isn’t Him.

What to Do - Watchfulness That Actually Makes Sense

Root Yourself in the Word, Not in Interpretations

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

- Acts 17:11 (ESV)

The Bereans listened to Paul - an apostle, miraculously converted, enormously learned - and checked every word he said against Scripture. This wasn’t a lack of trust. It was a model of healthy faith: no authority is to be accepted above God’s Word. None.

The same model applies today. C.S. Lewis repeatedly warned about a certain kind of spiritual trap: when “spiritual experience” becomes more important than the content of faith. When you feel that “this must have been from God, because I experienced it so intensely.” The intensity of an experience is not evidence of its divine origin. Satan can also produce intense experiences.

Recognize Escalating Urgency as a Warning Signal

There is one manipulation technique that appears in every deceptive movement: urgency. “Time is running out. You must act NOW. There’s no time for reflection. Those who hesitate will miss their chance.”

Every genuine message from God allows time for discernment. The Holy Spirit does not require hasty decisions from you. If anyone creates an atmosphere of urgency that makes calm verification impossible - that is precisely the reason to stop.

3 Questions to Always Ask

1. Does he lead toward the cross or away from it? A genuine messenger from God always leads to the crucified and risen Jesus of Nazareth - not to a new vision, a new revelation, a new mission.

2. Does he require obedience to Scripture or obedience to himself? A true prophet submits to the Word. A false prophet makes the Word submit to himself.

3. Does his God require repentance from sin or only loyalty? The antichrist can speak of God endlessly - but he will not call for repentance and turning from sin. Because that’s unpopular, and it breaks his hold over the crowd.

Love That Says Hard Things

There is something deeply sad in what this article describes. A people who have spent their whole lives waiting for a savior - and for that very reason are vulnerable to welcoming someone else.

The Pharisees knew the messianic prophecies. They knew them better than most Christians today. And yet they rejected the true Messiah - because He didn’t fit their interpretation of Scripture. The trap worked the other way around: not “they accepted someone who fit,” but “they rejected the One who didn’t fit.” Now picture the mirror image of that trap: Christians who will accept a false messiah precisely because he fits their pattern.

History may repeat itself. This time from the other side.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

- 1 John 4:1 (ESV)

“Test” - this is an active verb. Not: “trust.” Not: “feel.” Test. Verify. Compare with the Word. This is the biblical norm, not a sign of cold faith.

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

- Rev 22:20 (ESV)

Yes - come, Lord Jesus. This is the right posture. Longing for His return is good and biblical.

But He will come as lightning. Not as a messianic candidate who needs your vote.