Christ, The Anointing, and the Spirit of Antichrist (A Biblical Walk From Genesis to Today)

Most of us grew up hearing the words Christ and antichrist long before we ever knew what they meant.

For some, Christ sounds like a religious label. For others, antichrist sounds like something from an end-times movie. But in the original languages of the Bible, both words are far more personal and practical than that. They touch how we see Jesus, how we read the Hebrew Scriptures, how we relate to the Holy Spirit, and even how we check our own hearts for hidden resistance to God.

In this article, we will walk slowly and honestly through Scripture. We will:

1. Explain what Christ means in Hebrew and Greek.
2. Trace the idea of the Anointed One across the whole Bible.
3. Show from the Hebrew Scriptures why Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
4. Explain why many Jewish people do not believe Jesus is that Messiah.
5. Show from the Bible that the anointing is the Holy Spirit.
6. Explain what antichrist really means, and how even a religious Christian can still walk in an antichrist spirit.

The goal is simple: to be respectful toward Jewish people, to stay close to the text of Scripture, and to invite you into deeper faith in Jesus as Messiah and in the living work of the Holy Spirit.

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What Does “Christ” Mean in the Original Languages of the Bible?

Christ is not Jesus’ last name. It is a title.

Christ means “Anointed One.” It carries the idea of a person chosen by God, set apart, and empowered by His Spirit for a holy task.

In Hebrew, the word is Mashiach (Messiah). It comes from the verb mashach, which means “to anoint with oil.” In Greek, the word is Christos, which is where we get the English word Christ. You can see this connection explained in more detail in resources like the meaning of Messiah in Hebrew and Greek or this overview of the meaning of “Christ” as the Anointed One.

So when the New Testament calls Jesus “Jesus Christ,” it is saying, very plainly, “Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Anointed One.”

From “Mashiach” to “Christ”: The Anointed One in Hebrew and Greek

In the Old Testament, people were anointed with oil as a sign that God had chosen them.

• Priests were anointed to serve in God’s presence.
• Kings were anointed to rule God’s people.
• Prophets were sometimes anointed to speak God’s words.

The verb mashach means “to smear, to rub, to anoint with oil.” From this comes the noun Mashiach, the “anointed one.”

Later, when Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek (the Septuagint), they used the word Christos for Mashiach. That word is used many times in the Greek Old Testament, then explodes in the New Testament as the key title for Jesus. You can see this language background traced in resources like the Messiah article and the Greek term explained on BibleHub’s entry for Messias.

So “Messiah” and “Christ” are not two different ideas. One is Hebrew, the other is Greek, and both point to the same truth: a person anointed by God, filled with His Spirit, and set apart for His mission.

First Hints of the Anointed Deliverer in the Old Testament

The Bible does not start with the word Messiah, but it does start with a promise.

• In Genesis 3:15, after the fall, God speaks of the “seed of the woman” who will crush the serpent’s head. It is a shadow, a whisper of a future Deliverer.
• In Genesis 12:3 and 22:18, God tells Abraham that through his “seed” all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This begins to narrow the promise. The coming One will come through Abraham’s line and bring blessing to the whole world.
• In 2 Samuel 7, God promises David a son whose throne will last forever. This is not just about Solomon. The language stretches far beyond one king’s lifetime, into the idea of an eternal Kingdom.

Step by step, the Old Testament builds a portrait. Not just a vague hero, but a specific, promised, Anointed One. By the time we reach the later prophets and writings, the expectation of a coming Messiah is firmly taking shape.

Key Old Testament Uses of “Anointed” and “Messiah”

Several Old Testament passages use the word “anointed” in very concrete ways.

• Leviticus 4:3 speaks of “the anointed priest,” showing that priestly service flows out of God’s choice and God’s anointing.
• In 1 Samuel 24:6, David calls King Saul “the Lord’s anointed,” even though Saul is failing. David refuses to harm him, because God had set Saul apart.
• Psalm 2:2 speaks of “the Lord and His Anointed.” The psalm goes on to describe a king whom God installs in Zion, who will rule the nations.
• In Isaiah 45:1, even the pagan king Cyrus is called God’s “anointed,” because God uses him for a special purpose.

These passages show that “anointed one” can refer to priests, kings, or even foreign rulers. Not every anointed one is the Messiah. But together they train our eyes. We learn to expect a chosen, Spirit-marked figure who will carry out God’s plan.

Over time, Israel’s hope narrows toward a final, ultimate Anointed King who will bring God’s rule in fullness.

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How the Old Testament Points to a Future Jewish Messiah

Jewish people do not invent the idea of a Messiah out of thin air. It comes straight from their Scriptures.

When you read the Tanakh, you see several streams of expectation:

• A king from David’s line who rules forever.
• A suffering servant who bears sin and brings healing.
• A priest who brings people near to God.
• A prophet filled with the Spirit who speaks God’s words in fullness.

Different Jewish traditions weigh these streams differently, but they are all there. For a helpful overview of many of these texts, you can look at lists like the Top 40 Messianic prophecies or broader studies such as Did Jesus fulfill Old Testament prophecies?.

Christians believe all of these lines meet in one Person, Jesus of Nazareth.

Messiah as King: God’s Forever Son on David’s Throne

In 2 Samuel 7, God promises David:

• “I will raise up your offspring after you.”
• “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

Psalm 2 shows this royal Son of God ruling the nations with a rod of iron. The kings of the earth rage against Him, but God laughs and sets His King on Zion.

Psalm 110 paints a picture of someone who sits at God’s right hand until his enemies are made his footstool. This figure is both David’s Lord and God’s appointed ruler.

These texts shape Jewish expectations of a strong, victorious king. Many Jewish people today still look for such a Messiah who brings visible peace, gathers the exiles, and restores Israel in power.

Christians agree that the Messiah is that King. We also believe that some of His rule is already present in a spiritual way, and that He will complete it at His return with visible world peace.

Messiah as Suffering Servant: The Surprising Path Through Pain

Isaiah gives another picture that is more painful, but just as real.

In Isaiah 52:13–53:12, we meet the “Servant of the Lord” who:

• Is despised and rejected.
• Bears our griefs and carries our sorrows.
• Is pierced for our transgressions.
• Makes many righteous by bearing their iniquities.
• Dies, yet “will see His offspring” and “prolong His days.”

Many Jewish teachers read this Servant as a picture of Israel as a nation, suffering among the nations yet still chosen. Christians do not ignore that layer, but we see more. We see a Person who stands for Israel and carries its calling in Himself.

In the Gospels, the story of Jesus matches the Servant in breathtaking detail. His rejection, His silence before His accusers, His death with criminals, and His bearing of sin all echo this passage.

Messiah as Priest and Prophet: The One Who Brings God Close

The Old Testament also points toward someone who will combine priestly and prophetic roles.

• Psalm 110 says, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” This is strange, since kings in David’s line were not priests.
• Deuteronomy 18:15–19 speaks of a “prophet like Moses” whom God will raise up. The people must listen to him.

Priests stand between God and people. Prophets bring God’s word to people. King, priest, and prophet together show a figure who brings God near in a complete way.

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Why Christians Believe Jesus Is the Christ from the Hebrew Scriptures

For the first followers of Jesus, the only Bible they had was the Hebrew Scriptures. They were Jewish men and women reading the same text that religious Jews read today.

Step by step, they became convinced that Jesus was the promised Christ. They did not start with church tradition. They started with Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings.

Jesus Fulfills the Kingly Prophecies of the Jewish Messiah

The New Testament writers highlight several details:

• Jesus is born from the line of David. Matthew and Luke both trace His genealogy through David.
• He is born in Bethlehem, the city of David, in line with Micah 5:2.
• He enters Jerusalem on a donkey in a clear echo of Zechariah 9:9.
• After His death, He rises and is exalted, a pattern that fits Psalm 2 and Psalm 110.

If you want to see many of these connections laid out, you can look at this overview of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.

Christians believe that the Messiah’s work comes in two main stages. First, He comes in humility to deal with sin. Second, He will return in glory to bring full peace and visible rule. This answers, in part, the common Jewish objection that the world does not yet look like the messianic age.

Jesus as the Suffering Servant Who Bears Sin and Brings Healing

Now place Isaiah 53 beside the Gospel accounts of Jesus:

• He is rejected by His own people.
• He is silent before His accusers.
• He is “numbered with transgressors” as He dies between criminals.
• He bears “the sin of many” in His death.

Jewish interpretations that read Isaiah 53 as Israel’s suffering have deep roots, and they deserve respect. But Christians see something else at work. Jesus stands as the true Israelite, the faithful Son who does what Israel as a nation was called to do and could not complete.

He suffers not just from the nations, but for the nations. He takes sin on Himself so that forgiveness and healing can flow to Jew and Gentile alike.

Jesus as High Priest and Prophet: Opening the Way to God

The New Testament letter to the Hebrews explains Jesus as the great High Priest.

He does not bring animal sacrifices over and over. He offers Himself once for all. Then He rises and lives forever to intercede for us.

This matches the promise of a priest “forever” in the order of Melchizedek in Psalm 110. At the same time, Jesus acts as the prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18. He speaks God’s words with unique authority, does signs and wonders, and calls people to a covenant relationship with God.

In Him, priest, prophet, and king meet.

Why Many Jewish People Do Not Believe Jesus Is the Messiah Today

We need to speak carefully here. Many Jewish people have serious, thoughtful reasons for not believing Jesus is the Messiah.

Common reasons include:

1. The Messiah should bring visible peace. Many expect an immediate end to war, injustice, and suffering. Since the world is still broken, they conclude Messiah has not yet come.
2. The Messiah is expected to rebuild the Temple and restore full Torah life. Jesus did not rebuild the physical Temple, so He does not seem to fit that expectation.
3. Isaiah 53 and similar texts are read as Israel, not as a single person. So using those texts for Jesus feels like a misuse of Jewish Scripture.
4. The Christian history of antisemitism and violence. Many Jewish people see “Christian” as tied to persecution. That makes faith in Jesus painful and hard to consider.
5. Belief that God is one Person only. The idea of Jesus as divine feels like a denial of the Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

If you want to hear these reasons from Jewish voices themselves, you can see articles like Why don’t Jews believe in Jesus? or teaching like Six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus.

Christians, reading the same Scriptures, see a two-stage work of Messiah. First He comes to suffer and bear sin. Then He will return in glory to bring full peace and visible rule. We also see the oneness of God as a rich unity of Father, Son, and Spirit rather than a flat, simple oneness.

Painful history and real misunderstandings remain. So we need humility, patience, and love as we bear witness to Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

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What Is “The Anointing”? How Christ and the Holy Spirit Are Connected

If Christ means “Anointed One,” then we must ask: anointed with what?

The answer runs like a river through Scripture: the Holy Spirit.

From Oil on the Head to the Spirit in the Heart

In the Old Testament, anointing with oil is a picture of the Spirit’s work.

When Samuel anoints David in 1 Samuel 16, the text says, “The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.” Oil on the head was an outward sign of an inward reality, the Spirit of God coming on a person for a calling.

In the New Testament, the focus shifts from outward oil to inward presence.

God still uses physical symbols at times, but the true “anointing” is now the Holy Spirit living in and resting on a person. That is how God marks someone as His own.

Jesus Anointed With the Holy Spirit and Power as the True Christ

At Jesus’ baptism, something powerful happens.

As He comes up from the water, the heavens open, the Spirit comes down like a dove, and the Father’s voice speaks: “This is My beloved Son.” This is a public anointing.

Later in Luke 4, Jesus stands in the synagogue, reads Isaiah 61, and says:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me…”

Then He says, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

He claims to be the anointed One upon whom the Spirit rests. This is Christ in action.

Believers Share in Christ’s Anointing Through the Holy Spirit

Here is where this becomes very personal.

The Bible teaches that when a person turns to Jesus in faith, the Holy Spirit comes to live within them. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 that God “anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts.”

John writes in 1 John 2 that believers “have an anointing from the Holy One.” That anointing is not some vague feeling. It is the Holy Spirit teaching, guiding, and guarding us from deception.

This is also where we can connect to practical love and obedience. For a deeper look at how God’s love through Christ shapes the Christian life, you can explore this reflection on the Biblical definition of love and its connection to Christ.

So, Christ is the Anointed One, and Christians are people who share in His anointing by the Holy Spirit.

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What Does “Antichrist” Really Mean in the Bible?

Now we turn to that heavy word: antichrist.

Many people think of one future world leader and stop there. The Bible does speak of a final figure of great deception, but it also says something far more personal.

John writes about many antichrists who are already in the world.

Antichrist in 1 John: Against the Anointed One and His Anointing

In 1 John 2:18–27 and 2 John 7, the word antichrist appears.

John describes antichrist as:

• Those who deny that Jesus is the Christ.
• Those who deny the Father and the Son.
• Those who deny that Jesus came in the flesh.

The word itself carries two ideas: “against Christ” and “in place of Christ.” Antichrist is anything, or anyone, that stands against the Anointed One or tries to replace Him.

John also contrasts antichrist with the anointing believers have. The Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus as the true Christ. The spirit of antichrist refuses that testimony.

Here is the key: antichrist is not always loud hatred of God. Sometimes it is a quiet refusal to receive Jesus as the Christ, and a resistance to what the Holy Spirit is saying about Him.

Antichrist, Religion, and the Danger of Empty Christianity

This is where things get uncomfortably close to home.

The Pharisees in the Gospels were very religious. They loved Scripture, Sabbath, and tradition. Yet many of them fought hardest against Jesus, and later against the Spirit-filled church.

They did not see themselves as enemies of God. They saw themselves as defenders of God’s truth. But in practice, they opposed the One whom God had anointed and resisted the Holy Spirit who pointed to Him.

Religion without the Holy Spirit can become antichrist in practice. It may still use God’s name, even honor the Bible, yet block people from the living Christ.

Antichrist can wear a religious mask.

Can a Religious Christian Still Walk in an Antichrist Spirit?

This is a hard question, but we need to face it.

A person can:

• Call themselves a Christian.
• Go to church every week.
• Know Bible facts and Christian songs.

Yet still resist the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart.

Paul warns of people who have “a form of godliness but deny its power.” We can grieve or quench the Spirit. We can say “Lord, Lord” with our mouth while refusing to do what Jesus says.

When a person refuses the Holy Spirit’s testimony about Jesus, cuts off His voice, and clings to control or self-righteousness, that person steps into the spirit of antichrist. That does not mean every struggling believer is an antichrist. We all wrestle, and God is patient.

But any time we block the Holy Spirit and push away the true Christ, we move in the wrong spirit, even if we sit in a church pew with a Bible in our hand.

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From Religion to Real Faith: How to Receive the Christ and Reject the Spirit of Antichrist

So how do we move from empty religion to living faith, from antichrist attitudes to a heart in step with the Anointed One?

The answer is not more rules. It is a deeper surrender to Jesus the Christ and to His Spirit.

Religion Seeks God; Faith Finds God in the Person of Christ

Religion, by itself, is our effort to reach God.

We try to pray more, do more, fix ourselves, prove ourselves. It is like climbing a ladder that never ends. Faith is different. Faith says, “I cannot climb high enough, but Christ came down to me.”

In the Gospels, you see this contrast often.

• The religious leaders stand near Jesus, watch His miracles, and argue.
• Broken sinners fall at His feet and go home forgiven.

Religion is a search. Faith is what happens when the search ends in a Person, when you realize the Messiah has already done the work on the cross.

True faith begins when you stop trying to impress God and instead receive Jesus as the Christ who already carried your sin, shame, and failure.

How to Open Your Heart to the Anointing of the Holy Spirit

Here is a simple way to respond:

1. Hear the Gospel. Let the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection sink in.
2. Turn from sin and self. Admit that your way has led to death. Turn your back on known sin and on self-rule.
3. Believe that Jesus is the Christ. Trust Him as God’s Anointed One, your King, your Priest, your Prophet.
4. Ask for the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the Father gives the Spirit to those who ask in faith.

When you do this from the heart, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you. He becomes your anointing, your inner Teacher, your seal of belonging.

As you keep clinging to Jesus, the Spirit guards you from the influence of antichrist, because He always points your heart back to the true Christ.

Living as a Witness to the Jewish Messiah in Today’s World

Since Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, then our lives should show honor to the Jewish Scriptures and love for Jewish people.

We can:

• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• Repent of Christian arrogance and past hatred.
• Share Jesus with gentleness and respect, not pressure or pride.
• Live Spirit-filled lives that reflect God’s character.

The best answer to antichrist is not arguments alone. It is a life that shines with the love, truth, and power of the Anointed One, so that both Jews and Gentiles can see something real.

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Conclusion: Christ, The Anointing, and Your Next Step

We have seen that Christ means “Anointed One,” rooted in the Hebrew Mashiach and the Greek Christos. The Old Testament slowly builds a rich picture of this Messiah as King, Servant, Priest, and Prophet. The New Testament presents Jesus as the One who fulfills these roles from within Israel’s own Scriptures.

Many Jewish people still wait for Messiah for serious and understandable reasons. Yet the Biblical case for Jesus as the Christ is deep and consistent for those willing to look again. The anointing is the Holy Spirit at work in and through believers, the same Spirit who rested fully on Jesus.

In the end, antichrist is not just a dark figure in the future. It is any spirit or attitude that denies or replaces the true Christ and resists the Holy Spirit, even inside religion.

If you sense any of that in your own life, you do not have to stay there. You can turn to Jesus as the Christ right now, ask the Father for the Holy Spirit, and step out of empty religion into living faith.

Let your heart say, in simple honesty: “Jesus, You are the Christ. I receive Your Spirit. I choose faith over empty religion. Free me from every trace of the spirit of antichrist, and make me a witness of Your love and truth.”