Antichrist passed for the embodiment of evil in the world for centuries. The great persecutor of the Church, the leader of the forces of evil in the last days of history, Antichrist became one of the central figures of medieval apocalyptic thought and, consequently, that of salvation history. The belief that Antichrist would appear during the final events of history to fulfill an important part of the prophecy of salvation by temporarily imposing his tyrannical rule was taken as certain in the Christian Middle Ages. Theologians, scholars, writers, and artists could hardly ignore the theme, one which led to Antichrist’s becoming the subject matter of numerous learned treatises, prophecies, poems, plays, and iconographic representations. Medieval interpretations of Antichrist developed in the ways that corresponded to the principles of biblical hermeneutics. One of the traditional representations of Antichrist portrayed him as a human figure and the diabolical opposite of Christ at the same time, showing all the details of his earthly life. The other depicted him as a multiple or amorphous entity embodying all the evil in the world.

The representation of Antichrist in the Velislav Bible followed the former of the above-mentioned traditions. The passage of the Bible dealing in both pictures and words with the life and deeds of Antichrist ranks among the most exceptional pieces of the European culture. In terms of pictorial representation, the detailed and comprehensive way in which the theme is treated made the passage almost unique in the Middle Ages. In manuscript illumination, there are only two textually and iconographically similar treatments of the Antichrist theme from the period spanning the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries to have been preserved in the western Christian world. Both of these, however, are less epic. The one created earlier was a part of the Hortus deliciarum, a compendium written by Herrad of Landsberg in 1167. Here, Antichrist is shown as a monarch with noble features, dressed in a sumptuous gown and wearing a crown on his head. Toward the end of the twelfth century, a pictorial vita of Antichrist was created for the so-called Pamplona Bible, whose author directly quotes from the Tiburtine Oracle.