Antichrist & Threefold Office of Jesus

The goal of the Antichrist is to obscure & usurp Jesus & His threefold office.

Matthew 12:41 - The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

For Jews, Jonah was one of the most successful prophets, because Jonah went to Nineveh and preached for a few days (Jonah 3:4) and the whole city repented (Jonah 3:5-7).

Jesus said that He was greater than Jonah, the most successful prophet.

Jesus asserts Himself as the Greatest Prophet (Deu 18:18)

Matthew 12:42 - The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Solomon was the greatest king of Israel in terms of wisdom and prosperity (1 Kings 3:12-13)

For Jews, Solomon was the greatest king.

Jesus said that He was greater than the most successful king.

Jesus asserts Himself as the Greatest King (Rev 19:16 - King of Kings)

Matthew 12:6 - Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.

Jesus said that He was greater than the Temple.

Hebrews 5:10 - called by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4)

Jesus asserts Himself as the Greatest High Priest. (Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:15,17,21)

The Antichrist would try to usurp & obscure the threefold office of Jesus.

Paul calls Antichrist as the Son of Perdition (2 Thes 2:3), which Jesus used for Judas Iscariot (John 17:12).

John 17:12 - While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 - Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition

Judas Iscariot was not an opponent from outside but a betrayer from within.

He was a counterfeit more than a combatant.

The Antichrist is a subtle religious imposter and not a political opponent.

1. The Pope calls himself the Vicar of Christ and hence considers himself a Prophet

2. The Pope is called Pontifex Maximus (High Priest) or the Supreme Pontiff and hence considers himself the High Priest.

3. The Pope is the king of Vatican City and he denies the Kingship of our Lord Jesus.

Revelation 18:4 - And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.