The spirit of the antichrist

"My dear friends, not every spirit is to be trusted, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets are at large in the world. This is the proof of the spirit of God: any spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ, come in human nature, is from God, and no spirit of antichrist, whose coming you have heard of; he is already at large in the world." (1 John 4: 1-4)

The spirit of antichrist works to deny the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is a critical principle of discernment of spirit. When we add to this another principle: "By their fruits, you shall know them," you have an unassailable battery of discernment of spirits.

The antichrist will diminish Jesus whenever and wherever he can. The good spirit bears witness to Jesus and spreads knowledge of His name everywhere.