False Christs And Doctrine Of Demons Series

Introduction

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) (Luke 8:26–29)

It is evident that for the last several decades our world has become a place of increasing demonic activity

3 Articles/ Examples

These are ominous signs that the world is increasing in darkness, even from the time of Jesus. The reality is the deception of man that began in the garden in Genesis 3 is increasing today. Satan, the current ruler of this world, is not necessarily becoming more powerful, but man is become more deceived and more focused on the things of the demonic. Here is a harsh truth: Satan is not to blame, we are!

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21–23)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, (1 Timothy 4:1–2)

What we will see as the time of Christ’s return draws near is the increasing influence of the power of the Antichrist. For many centuries, people have been fixated in finding out or trying to figure out who the antichrist will be. In the early church they saw it as possibly as one of the Roman emperors, and the names Nero and Domitian were bandied about. Martin Luther saw it as the papacy of the Roman church, or the Pope. In WWII, people were sure it was Hitler, and many other prevalent leaders in our time.

What is important for us to know as believers is not ‘who’ is the antichrist, but that the antichrist emerges from a demonic spirit that is already at work today:

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)

The first warning that John gives us is that it is the "last hour." This is the only place in the New Testament that the term "last hour" appears. What exactly did John mean? According to John, the last hour is the intensifying of Satan’s fight through evil against God and his people. As we see the events of human history unfold, we can see that we are living in that last hour, and we must be watching and waiting for Christ’s return.

Today with the war in Israel, COVID, the racial violence, and the economic turmoil, antisemitism, and a myriad of other events, the world is ready for someone, anyone who will come and bring some sort of order and peace out of the mess, which is prime material for Satan and the Antichrist to work with.

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. (Daniel 8:25)

In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. (Daniel 11:21)

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

This is exactly how the prophet Daniel describes the coming Antichrist, and how he will make a covenant with many for a 7-year period, but then renege on this agreement half way through.

My point is not to try to elaborate on the antichrist, but rather the condition of the world, which will become increasingly fixated on the doctrine of demons because of the spirit of the antichrist at work, whose primary purpose is to deceive the saints and the world to follow after his false doctrines.