These are the sole references to the antichrist in the entire bible. Clearly, whoever wrote these texts was not referring to an individual, let alone a supernatural individual.

How did it come about that many christians have appropriated this term from the Johannine Epistles, and grafted it onto the "beast" of Revelation?

According to Strong's Concordance, "therion" literally means simply, "wild animal." Of course its metaphorical connotation is that of a brutal, savage, bestial man.

The author(s) of the Johannine Epistles make(s) no such connotations. Where is the scriptural basis underlying this extrapolation from "antichristos" to "therion"? Perhaps the custodians of the Book of Revelation slapped the name "John" onto it to establish this connection?

My understanding is that the consensus of scholarly thought has dismissed the idea of common authorship among these Epistles, the Gospel of John, and Revelation.

According to the Epistles, 99% of the posters here are antichrists, and the contemporary existence of antichrists in those days certainly didn't portend the end of the world.

To me, these references in the Johannine Epistles look like just another example of demonizing the opposition, a tactic that is enthusiastically embraced by christians to this day.

Comments?

It seems to be a recurring theme in the Christianity. Stringing together unrelated passages and then claiming that it's proof that the Bible was written to be one book, ususally the King James Version. Another example is the metamorphosis of the talking snake from Genesis into Satan. If so, Satan crawls around on his belly. eats dirt and has his head regularly crushed by humans.
[This message has been edited by Pitshade (edited April 21, 2001).]