The Antichrist
A New Biography

A complete history of the Antichrist, Satan's son, within the context of Western expectations of the end of the world.

Philip C. Almond (Author)

9781108479653, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 October 2020

354 pages, 16 b/w illus. 16 colour illus.
22.2 x 14.5 x 2.4 cm, 0.57 kg

'Almond has a flair for presenting complex histories with clarity and wit, and the result here is an engaging narrative well-suited to the perspective of the 2020s.' Sean L. Field, Scottish Journal of Theology

The malign figure of the Antichrist endures in modern culture, whether religious or secular; and the spectral shadow he has cast over the ages continues to exert a strong and powerful fascination. Philip C. Almond tells the story of the son of Satan from his early beginnings to the present day, and explores this false Messiah in theology, literature and the history of ideas. Discussing the origins of the malevolent being who at different times was cursed as Belial, Nero or Damien, the author reveals how Christianity in both East and West has imagined this incarnation of absolute evil destined to appear at the end of time. For the better part of the last two thousand years, Almond suggests, the human battle between right and wrong has been envisaged as a mighty cosmic duel between good and its opposite, culminating in an epic final showdown between Christ and his deadly arch-nemesis.

Prologue
1. The Origins of the Antichrist Tradition
2. The Story Begins
3. The Antichrist, East and West
4. Antichrists, Present and Future
5. Of Prophets, Priests, and Kings
6. The Antichrist Divided
7. Antichrists – Papal, Philosophical, Imperial
Epilogue: A Brief Meditation on History.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB], Christian theology [HRCM], Church history [HRCC2], History of religion [HRAX], Philosophy of religion [HRAB]