While I understand and agree with a lot of the post, the "antichrist" is not a person. It is a spirit, that had been here since Paul's time.
The term "anitchrist" does not mean an opposite. The original Greek "anti" means "in place of". So this is a spirit that tries to take the place of Christ. There is also the harlot that controls the beast. All of this of course symbolic, as there will not be a prostiture riding a 7 horned beast.
Simply put, the beast is the system that all of us on this board seem to be battling. The US and Europe (along with most of the "civilized" world) are a continuation of the Roman empire, which was an continuation of Babylon. Farther back even, Babylon can be tied to Cain (yes, that Cain).
The harlot which controls this beast is the catholic church. I highly recommend reading F. Tupper Saussy's "RULERS OF EVIL: Useful Knowledge About Governing Bodies". It is one of the most eye opening works on the origins of the founding of the United States, European history, and the underlying influence that the Vatican has quietly shown throughtout the centuries. Go to his site at:
http://www.tuppersaussy.com/html/writings/writings.html
Don't believe me? During the last pope's funeral, even the secular media was calling him the "Holy Father". Sorry, but there is only one of those, and He reigns in heaven.
One of the pope's titles is "vicar of Christ". This means "in place of Christ". Where have we heard about this? Yes, he openly calls himself the antichist! Millions live and die by his whim, gladly.
The popes are the continuation of the roman emperors, which proclaimed themselves "Son of God".
I could go on for hours about the proof of these statements, but I will leave that up to the reader to follow up on.
I just don't want people to be hurt by looking for something that is already there.