This book examines this compelling legend from the Second Temple in Jerusalem to our times approaching the millennium. By looking at the history of this symbolic human figure of ultimate evil, he uncovers the fears and hatreds of Christians through the ages. They have seen the Antichrist in persecuting emperors (Nero, Justinian), in popes and Protestant reformers, in powerful leaders (Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler), and in groups such as Jews and Muslims. Protestant fundamentalists still predict the Antichrist is coming while novelists, psychotherapists, and filmmakers are true believers among secularists. McGinn concludes that the spirit of this legend is afoot in our times through the power of deception.