The antichrist test
The one test the Bible itself calls the spirit of the antichrist
The epistles of John draw an explicit, two-part boundary — and Islam sits on the affirming side of both halves.
The test
Deny that Jesus is the Christ, or that he came in the flesh
- 1 John 2:22
- 1 John 4:2-3
- 2 John 1:7
The Bible gives a single, explicit test for the spirit of the antichrist: denying that Jesus is the Christ, and denying that he came in the flesh — a real human being, not a phantom. Whoever denies the Son denies the Father with him.
Where Islam stands
Islam affirms both halves of that test without qualification. Jesus is al-Masih, the Christ (Quran 3:45), and he was a man who ate food, walked among people and was born of Mary — not an apparition (Quran 5:75, Quran 3:59, Quran 19:22-33). Denying either one would put a Muslim outside their own creed as well.
- Quran 3:45
- Quran 5:75
- Quran 19:22-33
So the one boundary the New Testament itself draws in these letters — Christ, and in the flesh — falls on the same side for both traditions. What the epistles never make the test is a metaphysical claim about Jesus's essence.
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