In the context of the church that will encounter the Antichrist’s great tribulation, Jesus warns, “Remember, I have told you ahead of time” (Matt 24:25). And in the context of the Antichrist, Paul warns the church, “Let no one deceive you in any way” (2 Thess 2:3).
The prewrath position (and most posttribs) is the only position that believes the church will one day face the Antichrist.
Pretribulationism tells us the church will be raptured before Antichrist.
Preterism tells us there is no future Antichrist because he was fulfilled in the first century.
Pan-Tribulationism tells us we cannot know, therefore don’t worry about it.
Historicism tells us the “Antichrist” represents, not a future individual, but a present institution.
Idealism tells us the “Antichrist” represents, not a future individual, but present evil.
So there you go, folks. Let’s just explain away the plain meaning of Scripture to fit our traditions. These mistaken interpretations, sadly, set up the church to be vulnerable for when the Antichrist will be revealed.
I will conclude with what I opened up with, but with Mark’s account of Jesus’ warning:
“Be careful! I have told you everything ahead of time.” (Mark 13:23)
Those who wrongly interpret Jesus’ warning or dismiss it all together, do so at their own peril.
