THE ANTICHRIST IDENTIFIED
Warsaw Christian Church, Richard Bowman, Pastor
Text: 1 John 2:18-22: Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
When I was about five years old, I remember it was about a week before Christmas. There was a knock on the door. My mother answered the door, and a deep voice spoke: “I am Santa Claus. I am checking every home to see if the children have been good. Have Bobby and Dickey been good boys this year?” My mother responded that we had been good boys. I was relieved. Santa would leave me some toys. After I learned there was no Santa, I realized that the Santa at the front door was my Dad!
We always looked forward to Christmas once each year. There is another creature coming who is not a myth like Santa. Many think he will only arrive at the end of the age. He is referred to in The Bible as the Antichrist. John tells us exactly who this person is. He is not a person from a Tim Lahey novel. John says he was present in the first century. He says, “many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18). John states he is living in the final hour. The last days have come, and the antichrist has also arrived. Sometimes, we think of “the last days” as coming in the future. John says he is living in the last days.
The word “antichrist” means “against Christ.” (Greek, antichristos). We are familiar with the Greek prefix “anti.” An antitank gun is a gun used against a tank. An antibiotic is a drug that fights off sickness. An antidote is a remedy that counteracts poison, among other things. An antichrist is a person who, directly or indirectly, works against Christ.
It is clear that when John thinks of antichrist, he does not think of an evil dictator that appears at the end of the age. John knows that many deserve the title of antichrist. They are numerous. John writes, "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world”. Antichrist is not simply a person. He is a person with specific characteristics. He was present in John’s Day and every age since. He has two characteristics. He stands against Christ and is a liar (1 John 2:22).
In a word, antichrist is a present reality in our world. He has even infiltrated the church. John’s point is clear. We are not to only look for a final antichrist. Yes, there will be a final manifestation of the Antichrist, but he has operated in every age. Even within the church, some stand against Christ despite bearing the name “Christian.” In John’s day, a sect known as “The Gnostics” had infiltrated the church. They redefined Christianity. They eliminated the death of Jesus as the basis for our salvation. They denied that Jesus was God in the flesh. They replaced the apostolic teaching with gnostic words and ideas. The ancient church recognized the Gnostics as heretics. Those who promoted their ideas were driven out of the church (vs. 19).
True Christians embrace Jesus as God’s true Messiah. Jesus is God in the flesh, an idea which every antichrist denies. True Christianity embraces Jesus as the Savior, the Son of the living God. A faithful Christian worships God through Jesus, finds forgiveness of sins through Jesus, speaks freely and often of Jesus, sings of Jesus, loves Jesus above everything and everyone, serves Jesus, longs for the return of Jesus, and rejoices in the prospect of spending eternity with Jesus.
We first come to Jesus through the words of the Bible. We do not resist that word but open our minds and hearts to it. We come to believe in the One revealed in the pages of Scripture. We decide to trust in Jesus, but something else is going on. When we trust in Jesus, we are born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, comes to abide with us. Because of His presence, our faith in Jesus becomes almost unshakeable. When we drift away from Jesus, God’s Spirit begins to pull us back. As long as we do not resist the Holy Spirit, we are secure in the arms of Jesus.
Do you remember what we used to call “The Fuzz Buster?” Before cell phones, they were installed in your car so that you could violate speeding laws because they began to beep when the police radar was in range. The Holy Spirit is like an internal “fuzz buster.” When we are exposed to antichrist teachings, an internal beeper sounds. It is God’s way of protecting us from false teachings.
I have told this story before. When working as a counselor for the State of Illinois, I was assigned to work with a new program with public defenders. My supervisor told me I would be working with “transcendental meditation.” I had no idea what TM was, but the Holy Spirit knew. An internal beeper went off (I am speaking figuratively). God was warning me about this new program, but I was ignorant about its nature. I did some research and learned that TM was a form of Hinduism. I was prohibited from teaching Christianity to the group I was working with, but I was to teach Hinduism! I stood face to face with the antichrist. I entered into a two-year conflict with that supervisor after I politely refused to work with the program and almost got fired, but that is another story that need not detain us.
Christianity guards us against the influence of the antichrist. When we hold fast to Jesus, abide by the Word of God, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit (His beeps!), the spirit of the antichrist will not move us away from Jesus. Listen again to the words of John the Apostle. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:22- 23). And look at 2 John 4:7: For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
What does it mean to deny Jesus? In its more subtle form, it involves speaking of God without clearly defining Jesus's role. It is to reject Jesus by downplaying the role of Jesus. It is a practice widespread in the church. Some years ago, I read a book by John Spong, an Episcopal Church bishop, in which he said that the death of Jesus on the cross for our salvation was an obnoxious doctrine. No intelligent Christian believes that the Father sacrificed the Son for our salvation. I guess that makes me a dummy! Those are the ideas of a bishop in the church. The New Testament clearly states that you cannot speak about God apart from Jesus. One may reject the Bible (as many have done), but you cannot escape the fact that the Bible connects God and Jesus so intimately that you cannot have one without the Father. John is clear: he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Those who speak of God and salvation apart from Jesus have denied Jesus. They are liars who belong to the Antichrist.
I wrote many papers when I worked with Disciple Renewal. In one paper, I listed 14 quotations from Christian leaders who denied the authority of the Bible, which meant they also rejected the authority of Jesus. I will share only one of those quotes. Ralph Wilburn, a Christian College Dean, writes, “In view of the conclusions reached by recent biblical criticism, theological integrity calls for a forthright abandonment of this false belief in an infallible Bible.” He also wrote, “The infallible book of old Protestantism is gone forever for critical, thoughtful minds. To reject the Bible is to reject Jesus. I doubt that such people realize they are promoting antichrist. They are against Christ.
True Christians do not say, “God saves.” We say, “God saves only in and through Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who bore our sins at Calvary.” Christians do not say, “God created.” They understand that Jesus, the second Person in the divine Trinity, was active in creating the heavens and earth. Christians do not simply pray to God. They pray to the Father in the name of the Son. We don’t baptize in the name of God alone but in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We don’t partake of communion to remember “God.” We honor the Son of God in the bread and the cup. We are not “Godly” people. We are CHRISTians.
When people talk about God as if He can be known apart from Jesus, I hope a beeper goes off! They are liars. That is the word used by John the Apostle. It is the spirit of antichrist at work. If you deny Jesus, you deny the Father (I and the Father are one, said Jesus).
When Christians speak this way, the spirit of antichrist will often respond, “But how can you limit God. The “god” in whom I believe is known in all the world religions, even those who deny Jesus. “God” can save in any way He chooses, with or without Jesus. Richard, you are limiting God!” I respond, “I am not limiting God. God has limited His salvation to Jesus. It is the Son of God who says, “No one comes to the Father but by me.” I am not limiting God. I am simply repeating what is revealed in Scripture. If the Bible is not the Word of God, then I have no idea what the word “god” even signifies.
John warns us to beware of anyone who denies Christ. Some of those denials are not obvious but subtle. You will never hear in the church, “I deny Jesus.” You might hear, “It is good to trust in Jesus, but it is not an absolute necessity for salvation. God is known in all the great religions. We must beware of offending people who believe in God apart from Jesus. This statement is as much a denial of Jesus as the first statement, but it is far more dangerous. It may seem right to affirm that God is known in all world religions. But if you believe that, you might as well discard your Bible. It has a very different message.
I close with a gentle reminder that the church today is vulnerable to antichrist. I know that firsthand. When First Christian Church hired me in 1962, they hired the spirit of antichrist. Neither the church nor I realized it. I was caught up in the higher criticism of the Bible, and I understood Jesus in such a way as to deny Him. I thought I was a Christian, but I was not. Thank God He had mercy on me and drew me into the kingdom through the witness of a neighbor.
When you recognize the spirit of antichrist in another person, do not hate that person. He may be unaware that he is denying Christ. Paul reminds us that we battle not against flesh and blood but against invisible spiritual forces operating in the world. John says flatly that the spirit of the antichrist (Satan) seeks to seduce us. Satan wants to draw us away from Jesus, if not openly, then subtly. We are to love persons but note carefully what they teach. If I or anyone else says anything to draw us away from Christ, the spirit of antichrist is at work. Don’t focus all your attention on the final antichrist. He is present in the world today. John says there are many antichrists, even in the church. Let the wise be forewarned.
