Just who is the Antichrist? A previous generation of evangelicals would have had not difficulty answering that: it’s the Pope, or the papacy in general. The virulence of anti-Catholic feeling in years gone by – cheerfully reciprocated by many Catholics – is quite startling, but it’s largely died away. In fact evangelicals rather like Pope Francis.

Throughout history there have been various candidates, including Peter the Great, Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin. It’s surprising how many people today think the Antichrist is President Obama or Hillary Clinton.

According to a new survey by the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Research, whoever they identify as the likeliest candidate, by far the most popular view among Protestant pastors is that the Antichrist is a real figure, a false Messiah who will arise at some point in the future. FULL REPORT