Tag Archives: antichrist

Antichrist Is Not What You Think

Bible General, Church Bulletin, Culture, Doctrine, Eschatology,

Part five of the Come Lord Jesus series on the final return of Christ at the end of time. Today we examine antichrist.

Social media has much to say about antichrist. He is just around the corner and will soon arise. He brings welcomed order to our troubled world and will be a heroic figure destined to save humanity. In truth, he is demonic and a destroyer of all that is good.

As we did when discussing the Rapture, let us ask what the Bible says.

Antichrist in Scripture

“Antichrist” is a biblical term. The word occurs five times in 4 verses. Only John uses the word.

“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)

“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”

( 1 John 2:22)

“and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

(1 John 4:3)

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”              

(2 John 7)

Therefore, the question is not whether it appears in Scripture, it does. But, how is the term defined and used by John? Of equal importance, how are people using the word antichrist today?

The Second Coming

The antichrist is not associated with the return of Jesus and is never used in connection with the end of time. Observe each of the occasions where John used the word. Not once is John speaking of the end of time. His words are always directed toward the very day and time in which he was writing.

More so, John, in all four verses, declares that the antichrist was already present in his first-century world! The antichrist was a specific kind of false teacher: one who “denies that Jesus is the Christ,” and one who does not confess that Jesus is from God” (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3).

Also 1 John 2:18 and 2 John 7 assert that there were many antichrists in the first-century. The antichrist of the Bible is not a single powerful ruler or influencer. We must reject false teaching on this subject. It is not relevant to say someone has good intentions. The only thing that matters here is the truth.

For more reading, visit this article from the late Wayne Jackson at Christian Courier.

666 and Seeds?

Eschatology,

One would think that there is nothing suprising still to be found in religion. Quacks have taken almost every possible opportunity to twist the Scriptures to say things never imagined by the Holy Spirit. However, if one thinks this, one would be wrong.

The Press-Register newspaper of Mobile, December 6, 2008, carries a story about a man who has decided that the figurative number 666 found in Revelation is, he tells us, in hybrid seeds. His reasoning is that seeds have been given to man by God and man has corrupted those seeds by cross-breeding and genetic mutations.

In a book he calls “The 666’s are in the Seeds,” author Michael White says, “The Antichrist will use seed to control nations and people.” He continues with the warning that “[p]atented seed will become the most prized possession of the Antichrist.”

Where to begin?

The Antichrist is not mentioned in connection with the end of time.

The Antichrist is only mentioned five times in four verses in Scripture and never in one of the apocraphal books. (1 John 2:18; 1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3 and 2 John 7).

The Antichrist is never mentioned in connection with the number 666.

Antichrist is about the denial that Jesus is the Son of God and has come in the flesh.

We should also mention that White has a ulterior motive in writing the book. It seems he was sued by seed developer Monsanto for saving patented seed, cleaning it and reselling it in violation of federal patent laws. Now he has a seed under his saddle about hybrids.

God’s Word was never intended as a foundation for foolishness. Sound, faithful Christians must study the Scriptures daily so that they can reject the kind of silliness found in news articles like this.

Identity of the Antichrist (2)

Doctrine, Eschatology, , ,

In a [cref identity-of-the-antichrist prior post about the Antichrist] we have discussed the identity of the Antichrist by looking at the Bible passages that specifically mention him. We continue here with a look at two more passages on the subject.

Antichrist in 1 John 4:3

“…every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world.”

We are now introduced to a more specific definition of the Antichrist and we learn that his appearance is no longer in the future. It is in the present. According to most scholars, 1 John was written in the last decade of the first century ((Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 1970, pg. 989-899)). This means that this “spirit of Antichrist” has been with us for just over 1900 years! This is a stunning blow Continue reading Identity of the Antichrist (2) →

Identity of the AntiChrist

1 John, 2 John, Eschatology, , , ,

The identity of the Antichrist is a subject of great and growing interest among both religious and non-religious people. So much has been said about the Antichrist that people are seeking answers to identify this horrendous being and to learn what to expect from his devilish devices.

The Bible is the only reliable source for a study of the Antichrist. You will soon see that the Biblical account of Antichrist is greatly different from what the popular religious press and the entertainment industry present. In fact, religious groups have wrested the entire concept of Antichrist from its Biblical moorings and created a cartoon-like character which has little to do with the real Antichrist.

Antichrist in the New Testament

The term “Antichrist” occurs only 5 times in all of Scripture. The occurrences are found only Continue reading Identity of the AntiChrist →