Alba 7-21-2024
WHO IS THE ANTI-CHRIST?
I John 2:18-23
Who is the Anti-Christ? Sorry, I can't tell you. Because I do not know! That may be disappointing to some of you who expected specific information. There are others who thought they knew the answer to that question. So we were told that various people must be that one. Among the suspects mentioned through the years have gone from Hitler to Henry Kissinger, and from Nero to the Pope.
I am unable to give you the name of anyone that wears that title. But I can give you a description of the person or persons that fit into that category. To be really honest, I can't even do that. All I can do is to share with you the description given in scripture. Which I will do.
The apostle John, who also gave us the Book of Revelation, gives us good information about what to look for, and what to look out for, when it comes to the subject of the anti-christ. In fact, John is the only one of the biblical writers who uses that name, and only in two of his letters.
There are other names in scripture that appear to refer to the same thing as what John is telling us. Names such as the Son of Perdition, Man of Sin, and the Lawless One. But today let's learn what the apostle John has to say about this subject. Would you all turn to I John 2:18-23. Here is what he says:
18 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.
There are two other questions we should answer before asking, Who is the Anti-Christ? The first question is: What is meant by the term "Antichrist". To answer that we need to remember that the word Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. Both Christ and Messiah mean “the anointed One”. Therefore an antichrist is anyone who opposes Jesus Christ as the Messiah: our prophet, priest, and king.
The second question is: What is the “last hour” that John speaks of here? That is a reference to being in the end times. The question about whether or not we are living in the end times is very easy to answer. The answer is yes. This is an absolute fact and there is no doubt about it. You see, the Bible teaches us that the end times began nearly two thousand years ago when Jesus Christ came to earth, and that these end times will continue until He returns to earth again. We do not know when that will be.
But if it was the last hour when John wrote those words, we could be in the last minutes, or the last seconds of these end times. Oh, it is time. Time to be ready, to know that your sins have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus, and that you will be welcomed into heaven as one of God's children. It is time!
Now back to the original question, who is this anti-christ that is spoken of here? The apostle John gives us some answers to that question. And he also is warning us so we can be aware and not taken by surprise concerning this subject. So the first answer with a warning is:
1. Beware, the Antichrist is already here and he is not one, but many. In verse eighteen John says, “you have heard that the Antichrist is coming”. And then he adds, “even now many antichrists have come”. John says of the antichrists of his day that they were those who did not continue with what the apostles were teaching. They had turned away from the ones who had first hand knowledge of Jesus Christ and were the reliable witnesses to His life and teaching. This means there were people even then who were promoting false teachings concerning the person of Jesus Christ, and were leading people astray from the truth found in the teaching of the apostles.
John tells us that there were many antichrists in his time. And indeed there are many antichrists in our time. We are not only to look for a final antichrist. Yes, there appears that there will be a final manifestation of the Antichrist, but that spirit has operated in every age. We don't have to wait until just before Jesus returns to have to deal with a final Antichrist. They are here now. But they may be hard to recognize, because as they say, many are sheep in wolves clothing.
And listen, I hate to says this, but even preachers may not be what they seem to be, whether in the pulpit or on TV. Someone said that some of those preachers are more “Hollywood” than “Holy Word”. And there are people who will knock on your door representing a religion whose doctrine about Jesus is not biblical.
A minister, Richard Bowman, admitted that when he began his ministry, the church “hired the spirit of antichrist”. He said, “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.”
And then he followed up with this, saying: “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.”
“Satan wants to draw us away from Jesus, if not openly, then subtly. We are to love persons but note carefully what they teach.” Then he said, “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.”
I agree with what he is saying. We need to beware, because the Antichrist is not one, but many. And they are already here. We can be aware and not taken by surprise.
The second answer to the question who is the antichrist given with a warning is this:
2. Beware, the Antichrist is a liar.
Verse 22 says, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” In verses 20 and 21, John makes it clear that he knew that his readers knew the truth, and that they had the Holy Spirit's guidance. But he also knew that the antichrists were trying to lead them astray with lies.
The antichrists build their following based on lies and deceit. They get people to follow them by telling them whatever they want to hear. Peter gave that warning in II Peter 2:1-2 saying, “...there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”
The apostle Paul told young Timothy to, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”(2 Timothy 4:2-4 NLT)
When we look ahead in John's letter we see in 1 John 4:1-3 he writes: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and 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.”
That may cause you to ask: Why is it so important to believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh? There are two reasons for John to say this. One is that in his day there were people called Gnostics. That is the opposite of Agnostic. An agnostic isn't sure whether there is a God or not.
The Gnostics believed that they knew even more. In their exalted knowledge, they came to the conclusion that the things of the spirit were one thing. And the things of the flesh were entirely a different thing.
That was convenient for them, because as long as they felt they were just fine in their spirit, it didn't matter what they did in their flesh. In other words, they could do anything their flesh desired with no consequences. A lot of people are living like that today.
But this also led them to believe that Jesus' physical death on the cross had no effect because only what is spiritual matters. They were denying the very purpose of His sacrifice on that cross in our place so that our sins could be forgiven. Oh, how wrong they were. And how wrong are we if we think there are no consequences for our sins. And how wrong are we if we miss the message that God so loved the world that Jesus came and died for you and me so that our sins penalty could be paid and we could be free from that burden.
That is why we call people to faith and repentance, and to be baptized into Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins confessing their faith in Jesus. Matthew 16:13-17 tells us, “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
That same confession, stating belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, is what we ask of a person who desires to be baptized. Without that faith, baptism is just getting wet. With that faith, baptism brings us into a new relationship with Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Who wouldn't want that?
Our Messiah was not a mere man, but a divine person, the Son of God; not by creation, as angels and men are, nor by adoption, as saints, nor by office, as magistrates, but by His nature, being God’s own Son. His proper Son, the only begotten of the Father, of the same nature with him, being one with Him, and equal to Him. That's who Jesus is!
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. I know that people of the world can't understand it, but for those who do, it is wonderful. Christians embrace Jesus as God’s true Messiah.
John says that the antichrists are liars. That is the opposite of what Jesus practiced in His ministry. Jesus always told people the truth whether they wanted to hear it or not.
In fact, Jesus was more interested in telling the truth than in developing a following. The truth is that sometimes being a Christian is hard. Jesus said to follow Him we must take our cross. But why shouldn't we? He took up His cross and died for us. Can't we take up our cross and live for Him?
So with the description the apostle John has given us, we are forewarned. Even Jesus gave us the warning in Matthew 24:23-25 saying, “...if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.”
So know this, that the spirit of the anti-christ is at work today. If the devil can't get you into his court by worldly temptations, he will try to get you by the lies of false teachers. Remember what happened to those who followed Jim Jones to Guiana, South America. They all drank the cool-aid and died outside of Christ.
Verse 23 warns, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” To acknowledge the Son is to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
I like the second verse of the hymn that says, “I need Jesus, when foes my soul assail; Alone I know I can but fail, So I need Jesus.” And you do too!
CLOSE:
Early in 1996, the body of Maurice Larry Lawrence, who had been appointed as an ambassador to Switzerland by President Bill Clinton, was buried in Arlington Cemetery, America's graveyard of war heroes. His granite tombstone read, "S1C [Seaman First Class] U.S. Merchant Marine."
But according to Don Van Natta Jr. and Elaine Sciolino in the New York Times, on December 11, 1997, cemetery workers hauled that tombstone away, and they exhumed the casket. The reason: the man had lied. For years he told others he had served on the Coast Guard ship Horace Bushnell during World War II. He said the Germans torpedoed the ship, and he had been thrown overboard, sustaining a head injury.
In fact, records showed that at the time he said he was serving in the Merchant Marines, he was actually attending Wilbur Wright College in Chicago. The Coast Guard had no record of his serving in the Merchant Marines, and of course he had never earned the rank of seaman first class.
Somehow his lie was not discovered when the State Department investigated his background when he was approved as an ambassador. Somehow his body was permitted to be buried in Arlington Cemetery with a tombstone engraved with a lie. But to no surprise, the truth eventually came out.
The truth will always win in the end.
One can say, “I'm a good person. I haven't really hurt anybody. I'm OK. I don't need God.” And the devil will be glad to hear that. But in the end, truth will out. And every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So lets do it now.
We all need Jesus. We are all sinners. We may expect a heavenly home, but we will not make it without Jesus.
Illustration adapted from “The Truth Will Always Come Out” contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 18, 2022
