Română
In this recording, Archimandrite Athanasios Mytilinaios (1927-2006), answers a bold and unexpected question: “Can we kill the Antichrist?” The Antichrist is presented as a real person, the culmination of humanity’s apostasy and lawlessness, emerging from the “sea” of unrest among nations. Fr. Athanasios explains how the Antichrist’s arrival is tied to Christ’s Second Coming, though no one knows when this will happen. Christ Himself will ultimately destroy the Antichrist with His presence and power, as foretold in Thessalonians and Revelation.
Audio source: “Answers to Catechism questions”, no. 104 (in Greek), February 8, 1987
Fr. Athanasios:
You might laugh at this question but it holds some significance nonetheless. Lately, there has been much talk about the Antichrist, you know. Many of you have perhaps become alarmed, so someone spontaneously has written on a piece of paper: “Can we kill the Antichrist?” You know, to get rid of him and have peace. Well, you see, he/she calls for drastic measures: “to kill the Antichrist and be saved.”
Well, kids, first of all, I would like to ask you the following: Can we actually kill him? Yes, we can, wait and see how. Firstly, I must tell you that the Antichrist as a person is the culmination of the era of lawlessness and apostasy. Therefore, according to the Evangelist John, he emerges from the sea. In the book of Revelation, he says that he saw three beasts. The first beast was in the air—it is the devil. The second beast arose from the sea and was similar to the first because it derives its powers from the first. The third beast, coming out of the earth, is the False Prophet.
The second beast that rises from the sea is the Antichrist. Since it emerges from the sea, which is the symbol of the unrest and disorder of the nations, the Antichrist constitutes the product, the culmination of the apostasy of the nations from God and the fulfillment of their lawlessness. Thus, the Antichrist will be brought forth by humanity in the sense that he is a person, I repeat, a real human being. But he is the product of this great apostasy of the nations of the earth. This is the first point.
So, it is a reality that the Antichrist will come for sure. He may come in our days, in one hundred years, in five hundred years, in one thousand years, or in one year, we do not know that. If you were to ask me why, I would say that it is because his coming is connected to Christ’s Second Coming. That is why the timing of his arrival is unknown, because the timing of Christ’s Second Coming is also unknown. However, that does not mean we cannot approximately predict some events, because the Lord has given us several signs to expect both His Second Coming and, consequently, the Antichrist’s coming. So, based on these signs, we can say certain things. What can we say, without many details, about the Antichrist issue? Personally, based on my observations over several years, I believe there are some objective signs—not subjective, namely not as I understand them—but as they truly are. There are certain objective signs which indicate that Christ’s Second Coming, and thus the Antichrist’s coming, may not be too far away. Some events have already happened, others are happening at the present, and some are yet to come. While it does not look like the latter will happen tomorrow, they are not too far as well. The history of the world is already moving towards its end. Not just the end of humanity but of the entire universe.
If you want to learn more, come tomorrow evening, God willing, to St. Charalambos Church, when we will discuss about St. Cyril. We will discuss his 15th Catechesis, in which he refers on the recreation of the universe and how everything will finally come to an end. Whether it is us or our children, regardless of when it happens, how should we treat this figure? Can we kill it (according to the query)? You would be surprised, kids, if I told you that we can kill the Antichrist. “How?”, you may ask: with our faith in the divine-human person of Christ, namely, if we remain steadfast in our faith that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. John the Evangelist clearly states who is the Antichrist: the one who denies either the human or the divine nature of Christ. He is the Antichrist, he claims. This is indeed the core of the Antichrist’s allegations that he will make. How, then, can we “kill” him—that is, reject him? By remaining faithful, unwaveringly faithful, to the divine-human person of Jesus Christ.
And do not worry, the task of destroying the Antichrist will be assumed by another person. The Apostle Paul reveals this in Thessalonians: The Lord will “consume” him. “Consume” means to spend, to annihilate, that is He will strike him with the sword, the rhomphaia of His word. This is why Revelation states that the Antichrist, along with the devil, will be cast into the lake of fire and burning brimstone, and that is exactly the place of eternal damnation. Consequently, the Antichrist will be immediately “consumed” by the mere presence of Jesus Christ. As a result, we can say that yes, we can kill the Antichrist
