Vice President JD Vance recently said he would not be shocked if the Antichrist were already “walking among us.” But he stopped short of claiming to know who the Antichrist is.

Some Christians have not shown the same restraint.

Every few years, another president, pope, billionaire, political leader, or international figure is declared to be the Antichrist. Videos are made. Numbers are calculated. Coincidences become evidence. Someone claims to have finally figured it out.

Then the prediction fails.

The name changes.

And the guessing starts again.

Christians need to stop doing this.

This is not biblical discernment. It is speculation dressed up as prophecy. And when Christians attach the authority of Scripture—and therefore the name of Christ—to claims God never made, they damage their own testimony and bring needless ridicule on the faith.

Sometimes the most biblical thing we can say is: God has not told us yet.

Paul does not use the word Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2. He calls this person “the man of lawlessness” and “the lawless one.”

But look at the man he describes.

He opposes God. He exalts himself above every object of worship and presents himself as God. His coming is connected with Satan’s power, false signs, wonders, and deception. And Jesus Christ destroys him at His return.

For those reasons, Christians have commonly identified Paul’s man of lawlessness with the final opponent of Christ whom we call the Antichrist.

And Paul tells us something important about him.

He will be revealed.

Paul says the man of lawlessness will be revealed in connection with the events surrounding the Day of the Lord. He then says there is presently something—or someone—restraining him. After that restraint is removed, “the lawless one will be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–8).

Christians disagree about the identity of the restrainer. Many Christians who distinguish Israel from the Church and expect a future Tribulation understand the restrainer to be the Holy Spirit exercising His restraining influence through the Church. Other interpretations exist.

We do not have to settle that question to understand Paul’s point.

The lawless one has an appointed time when he will be revealed.

If God has appointed the time of his revealing, why should we believe a YouTube video, a numerical calculation, or someone’s political theory has revealed him early?

God did not ask us to solve a mystery He has not yet chosen to reveal.

He asked us to be faithful to what He has already revealed.

The problem is bigger than simply making a bad prediction.

We represent Christ.

Paul says we are “Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20). When we claim that Scripture teaches something, we are invoking an authority far greater than our own.

That should make us careful.

When a Christian confidently announces that someone is the Antichrist and later proves to be wrong, unbelievers may not distinguish between that person’s speculation and biblical prophecy.

They hear:

“Christians said this.”

Or:

“The Bible said this.”

But…

Peter warned that because of false teachers, “the way of truth” would be brought into disrepute (2 Peter 2:2). Christians should take that warning seriously.

The world will find plenty of reasons to mock Christianity without our giving them legitimate ones.

We should never bring shame on the name of Christ by confidently speaking where Christ has not spoken.

Before declaring that some politician, billionaire, pope, religious leader, or global figure “must be the Antichrist,” ask one question:

Did Scripture reveal this—or am I putting Christ’s name behind my own speculation?

Here is the irony.

While Christians are trying to identify the Antichrist, John tells us there are already many antichrists in the world.

John does not tell us to calculate their names or decode their birthdates.

He tells us what to look for.

Antichrist deception denies the truth about Jesus Christ. It denies the Father and the Son and rejects the truth about Christ (1 John 2:22; 4:2–3; 2 John 7).

That is discernment.

Some Christians are trying to identify the Antichrist God has not yet revealed while ignoring the many antichrists Scripture says are already here.

Those are the ones we should be watching for.

Not because someone belongs to the wrong political party.

Not because someone disagrees with us.

Not because we simply dislike a public figure.

John’s test is centered on Jesus Christ.

What do they teach about Him?

Do they deny who He is?

Do they distort the gospel?

Do they present another Jesus?

Do they claim spiritual authority while leading people away from the Christ revealed in Scripture?

These are the “little antichrists”—not a biblical term, but a useful way of describing John’s many antichrists already at work in the world.

We do not need speculation to recognize them.

We need Scripture.

There is something wrong when Christians spend more time talking about the coming Antichrist than the coming Christ.

We are ambassadors for Christ—not ambassadors for the Antichrist.

Our message to the world is not:

“Look who we think the Antichrist is.”

Our message is:

“Be reconciled to God.”

We should study prophecy. We should understand what Scripture says about the man of lawlessness. We should recognize the spirit of antichrist already operating in the world.

But our attention should remain where Scripture ultimately places it.

On Jesus Christ.

Paul tells us exactly what happens to the lawless one. The Lord Jesus will overthrow him “with the breath of his mouth” and destroy him “by the splendor of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

The Antichrist does not win.

In the end, he is not even a serious challenge to Christ.

We should talk more about Him.

Christians should watch.

We should remain alert.

We should recognize deception and pay attention to the things Scripture says will characterize the last days.

But watching is not guessing.

There is a difference between saying:

“These events resemble something Scripture warned about.”

and:

“This person is the Antichrist.”

The first may be discernment.

The second claims knowledge God may not yet have given us.

We should know the difference.

If you have been caught up in Antichrist speculation, stop.

If you have publicly identified someone as the Antichrist without clear biblical warrant, correct it.

Stop spreading a claim simply because admitting you were wrong would be embarrassing.

Stop sharing sensational Antichrist theories merely because they are interesting.

When another Christian confidently announces that he has identified the Antichrist, ask:

Why are you trying to identify someone Scripture says will be revealed later?

Then turn your attention toward the antichrists Scripture actually tells us to recognize.

Test teachers.

Test doctrines.

Test alleged prophets.

Test spiritual movements.

Test every claim against the Word of God.

When someone denies or distorts Jesus Christ, call it out.

When someone teaches another gospel, expose it.

When someone claims spiritual authority while leading people away from the biblical Christ, warn the Church.

Those are battles Scripture actually tells us to fight.

And above all:

Let us act like it.

The Church does not need better guesses about the Antichrist.

It needs better discernment about the antichrists already among us—and greater faithfulness to the Christ whose name we bear.