Category Archives: Bible Study

Many Faces of Antichrist

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The figure of the Antichrist appears in several places in the New Testament before he appears in the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation). In the first epistle of St. John, we read Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18) The antichrists are those who oppose the apostle’s teaching. They are the heretics (lit. “the choosers”) who choose a different teaching and place themselves in opposition to the Church.

In the 2nd epistle to the Thessalonians, the antichrist is the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3-10) who opposes peace, order, and harmony–both civil and ecclesiastical. The seven-headed, ten-crowned dragon of the Apocalypse is typically identified with this “man of lawlessness,” the Antichrist. The dragon deceives and destroys, confusing and laying waste to the Church and the known world.

St. Paul makes the cryptic remark: “… the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” (2 Thess. 2:7) Who restrains the Antichrist? St. Paul seems to presume that his readers know but later readers have had to surmise. Even St. Augustine threw up his hands and exclaimed, “I admit that the meaning of this completely escapes me.” (City of God, Book 20, chapter 19)

St. John Chrysostom considered the Antichrist to be the personification of chaos and destruction. It was the power of Rome (even in her pagan days) that kept complete anarchy and destruction at bay. Chrysostom thought of himself as a “Roman” living in the “New Rome” of the ongoing Roman Empire that continued to constrain the Antichrist. Many early fathers and preachers agreed with him and would probably say that “that which restrains the Antichrist” continued to do so until 1917-1918, when Austro-Hungary and imperial Russia–the last two governments to see themselves as the continuation of the Roman Empire–finally collapsed or were overthrown.

The idea that imperial rule kept the world safe from evil is ancient. In the Old Testament, it seems that the ancient Israelites thought the kings of Israel were the “first line of defense” against the evil angels. (For more about this, see Margaret Barker‘s book, The Last Prophet.)

Proskynesis and Apocalypse

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We see Jesus standing with an 8-pointed star behind his head, emblematic of “eternity,” in this iconographic depiction of the first chapter of the Apocalypse. Christ appears in gleaming white priestly vestments, shining more brightly than the sun much as he is described as appearing at the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. Transfiguration, in patristic sermons, is seen as an anticipation of the End and a foretaste of the Apocalypse. Transfiguration reveals the goal and intended destination of humanity in communion with God. St. John, who saw Christ transfigured on Tabor, recognizes Christ transfigured again on Patmos.

The Apostle John makes a proskynesis (“prostration “) before Christ. Christ’s voice, which is described as sounding like a trumpet blast, is depicted by the elaborate trumpet coming from his mouth. We see the seven lamps depicted as candlesticks at Christ’s side. It became customary in the Christian West to always have seven candlesticks on the altar when the bishop celebrates the Eucharist.

The proskynesis, or “prostration,” is a gesture that appears many times throughout the Old and New Testaments. The prophet Daniel makes a proskynesis (Daniel 8:17; 10:7-9) while Joshua made a proskynesis to an angel (Joshua 5:14) and when King Solomon dedicated the Temple, the priests all make a proskynesis when the glory of God fills the newly-dedicated Temple.

Proskynesis is frequently translated “worship” in English Bibles but—according to the 7th ecumenical council—technically speaking proskynesis is precisely not worship. It is an act of honor, of reverence, of veneration. But not worship. Proskynesis is an act of veneration appropriate to make towards holy things—the altar, relics, icons—but it is not worship which is appropriate to offer only to God. Worship may include an act of proskynesis but proskynesis is not limited to acts of worship.

I am Wounded with Love

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The heart of the Mother of God is pierced by sorrows because she loves God; although St. Simeon foretold when Christ was 40 days old that his mother’s heart would be pierced by sorrow, the classic Christian belief is that her heart had already been pierced by love for God from the day she was born. This icon is also known as the “Softener of Evil Hearts” as the Mother of God can soften/pierce the hearts of those whose hearts are stony and unforgiving. Many pray before this icon to soften feelings of enmity that make it difficult to forgive others.

In Christ, that which is uncreated, eternal, existing before the ages, is completely inexpressible and incomprehensible to all created intellects. Yet that which was revealed in the flesh can to a certain extent be grasped by human understanding. It is towards this in Christ that the Church, our teacher, looks, and of this does she speak. inasmuch as this can be made intelligible to those who listen to her.

… he who sees the Church looks directly at Christ–Christ building and increasing by the addition of the elect. The bride then takes the veil from her eyes and with pure vision sees the ineffable beauty of her spouse. Thus she is wounded by a spiritual and fiery dart of desire. For love that intense is called desire. No one should be ashamed of this as the arrow comes from God…. the bride is proud of her wound for this desire has pierced her to the depths of her heart. This she makes clear when she says to the others, I am wounded with love (Song of Songs, 5:5).

(St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Song of Songs)

The bride–who is always the Mother of God, the Church, and each believer personally–is wounded with love. Driven mad by desire for her divine bridegroom. Delirious with love. In this mad, intense desire for the groom she finds it possible to love all those whom he loves as well even though she may not even like them herself. In this all-encompassing love we see a little of the incomprehensible love of God.

Many mystics describe an experience of being pierced by love for God during their own personal prayer. But more important than being pierced in such a personal way and having a particular emotional experience during prayer is the ongoing living out day-to-day of the love which all believers are wounded by. All those who struggle in some way to see God or apprehend the truth of reality are pierced by this desire. This wound–this desire–should shape and motivate all our actions as go about our business and not be limited to a particular “quiet time” we have alone although those quiet times are vital to nurture and develop this ongoing wound of desire and love.

To see the Church–corporately and personally–wounded with love for God is to see Christ wounded with love for us.