The Antichrist

The Antichrist, a charismatic person who would appear prior to the end times and become ruler of the world despite his inherent evil, was "identified" more than once in the Middle Ages.

Joachim Fiore, the "Man Who Invented the Future," declared Rome as Babylon and the pope as the Antichrist. Emperor Constantius II was declared the Antichrist in 365 because he was a semi-Arian. Constantius' response ultimately "returned the favor" by creating the first antipope. When the year 1000 was upon them, the Carolingians exhumed the body of Charlemagne, thinking they would need him to fight against the imminent appearance of the Antichrist.

Arius was called a harbinger of the Antichrist. Martin of Tours believed the world would end by 400, and stated "There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power."

The term Antichrist came from the fist and second epistles of John, where it is mentioned four times and described as someone "who denies the Father and Son." Matthew and Mark each refer to a "false Christ," when Jesus advises his followers not to be deceived by false prophets who will perform "signs and wonders" and claim to be Jesus. The "beast of the sea" in the Book of Revelation is assumed to refer to the Antichrist.

It is from John's description of the beast that the culture assumes the specifics of the Antichrist: buying and selling will require its mark on the forehead, it will blaspheme God, rule for 42 months, and will receive a wound in the head that will miraculously heal leaving no mark. It will be supported by the Dragon.

According to the Elucidarium of Honorius Augustodunensis, the end for the Antichrist will come:

Finally he will extend his forces to conquer the righteous at the Mount of Olives and there he will be found suddenly dead by the spirit of the mouth of the Lord, that is, slain by the command of God, as the saying goes, "The Lord will destroy at his holy mountain the man renowned through the whole earth.” [link; note that the source of this "saying" has not survived to the modern era]

The Reformation was clear on the identity of the Antichrist. Luther, Calvin, Knox all saw the pope as the position that matched the Antichrist, no matter which pope sat the seat at the time.

The illustration of the Antichrist riding Leviathan is from the Liber Floridus ("Book of Flowers") by Lambert de Saint-Omer. Let's take a closer look at him and it tomorrow.