Where did the term "antichrist" come from and does it appear in the Old or New Testament?

 The term "antichrist" appears exclusively in the New Testament. It does not appear anywhere in the Old Testament. [1, 2, 3]

Etymology and First Appearance

The word comes from the Greek term antikhristos, where "anti" means "against" or "in place of" and "khristos" means "anointed" or "Christ". [1, 2, 3]

The term originates in the Letters of John. It is used exactly four times across two New Testament books: [1, 2, 3]

• 1 John 2:18 (Mentions that "many antichrists have come")
• 1 John 2:22 (Defines the antichrist as one who denies the Father and the Son)
• 1 John 4:3 (Refers to the spirit of the antichrist)
• 2 John 1:7 (Applies the term to deceivers who deny Jesus came in the flesh) [1, 2, 3]

In these original contexts, the word did not refer to a single, apocalyptic dictator, but rather to contemporary false teachers and anyone who denied the divinity or humanity of Jesus. [1, 2]

Old Testament Roots and Related Concepts

While the precise word is not in the Old Testament, the concept of a ultimate end-times enemy of God drew heavily from Hebrew prophetic imagery: [1, 2]

• The Book of Daniel: Describes a tyrannical "little horn" king who oppresses God's people and exalts himself above all gods (traditionally associated with Antiochus IV Epiphanes).
• The Book of Ezekiel: References Gog and Magog, symbols of ultimate chaotic opposition to God. [1, 2, 3]

Later Christian traditions combined the specific word from John's letters with other New Testament figures—such as the "Man of Lawlessness" in 2 Thessalonians 2 and the "Beast" in Revelation 13—to create the popular, modern composite character of a singular end-times Antichrist.