creature was like a lion

1John2 raises some creepy thoughts toward the end. It is the introduction to the word "anitchrist". I expected it to come out of the far darker Rev chapters, but it is not so. Concordance shows only 4 instances of the word, all in 1John and 2John. Surprising. Skimming through Rev, and I find mentions of "the false prophet", which I'm sure theologians have tied to antichrist for centuries. Even the term "false prophet" occurs only 4 times, with only 3 of them being relevant to this discussion, and all 3 of them in Rev.

Not a lot of the Word dedicated to a being we are to be on the watch for. And not a lot of the Word dedicated to a being Jenkins and LeHaye have made their millions exploiting. Maybe that's because we need to be on the lookout for our own sins (the context of 1John2) rather than some other grand being whose rise will be seen as far more malevolent.

1John2 speaks not of the antichrist, but antichrists, make note of that plural. Add an s to "false prophet", brother. There will come many preaching lies, not just the singular. Thus, it is not some scrum being fought by Osteen, Campolo, Richard Dawkins, and fill-in-the-blank-with-your-scrub-of-the-day. They all have won/lost that fray.