"Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18).

John the Apostle told his readers that the end of the age of grace would be marked by the appearance of the Man of Sin.  However, even before all of the original apostles were dead the spirit of antichrist was already at work in the infant church.  We often think that the early church had everything perfect but the New Testament writers tell us that even by about the year 65 A.D. serious error had come into the church by teachers in prominent positions.

"Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" (1 John 2:22).

What is the nature of this spirit of error that John warns about?    He says it is antichristos - against Christ or instead of Christ.  Jesus of Nazareth is The christos - the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy Anointed One.

"...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power..." (Acts 10:38).
"...Peter replied to [Jesus], You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One" (Mark 8:29 AMP).

I think any true believer could recognize the antichrist spirit when it manifests as anti-Jesus or against Jesus.  Even a baby Christian with minimal instruction would know that to attack Jesus is ungodly.  This it what all of the psuedo-christian cults do.  They attack the Person of Jesus and/or His work.  They either deny that He really was the manifestation of God or they deny that He had come in the flesh.  They deny either His divinity or His humanity.  The antichrist spirit will also deny that the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus on the cross was sufficient to pay for our sins against the righteous demands of the Law of God.  This doctrine was infecting the church by 65 A.D.  However, there is another attack that the antichrist spirit makes that is not quite so obvious.  It not only denies the Person of Jesus and the work of the Lamb of God but it also denies and attacks His office or His anointing.  We easily recognize the spirit of antichrist when it is anti-/against Jesus.  But it is also anti-/against Christ; against the Anointing.

The Jews of Jesus' day hated him primarily because He walked in the anointing. They were the representatives of Moses and had a figurative seat of authority in Israel. But Jesus walked in true authority. He commanded the unclean spirits and they obeyed.  The priests, scribes, and lawyers discussed about why a person was sick. Jesus rebuked the sickness and it left.  There was no comparison. When Jesus was finally handed over to Pilate "...he knew that the chief priests handed Him over because of envy" (Mark 15:10).

The same is true today. We are envious of someone who walks in the anointing; even if it is only partially pure. We must beware lest we give place to a spirit of anti-anointing, or in other words: antichrist. Jesus did all His work through the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  If we are to do anything for the kingdom of God it will also be solely by the anointing which Jesus shares with us. So, it is utterly foolish to criticize anyone who is in partnership with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We become like naked people who criticize others who stand clothed in the robes of our High Priest Jesus. If we have any power it is only because He lets us wear His clothes which are soaked with the oil of gladness; that precious anointing oil representing the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Let us not give place to this antichrist spirit in our hearts. If we speak out of envy we become like a steer who criticizes the way a bull does his job.  "Please, Mr. Steer, show us how it's done properly, then."  We display our nakedness and foolishness and our powerlessness. God have mercy on our emptiness and our envious hearts. If we really desire the anointing it is available! But there is a price to pay to walk in the anointing. And if we do find the grace to walk in it then let us make sure we do not promote foolishness in the name of the anointing.