1 John 2:18-25 ESV
“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. 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 it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 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. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.”
What does it mean to be antichrist? It means to be against
Christ, to be his enemy, to contradict him, to be opposed to him, to be in
opposition to him. And it is all those who deny that Jesus is the Christ, the
Promised seed of Abraham, but not just verbally, but by their lifestyles, and
by their practices. For many wolves in sheep’s clothing exist among us who
profess Jesus with their lips but who deny him by their practices, who have the
appearance of righteousness and godliness, but who deny its power in their
lives.
Definitely, if anyone denies that Jesus – the only begotten
Son of God, born of the virgin Mary – that he is the Christ (and God), the promised
seed of Abraham, that person is antichrist regardless of whether he is Jew or
Gentile by physical birth. But denial is not in words only, otherwise we wouldn’t
have references to wolves in sheep’s clothing who disguise themselves as
servants of righteousness but inwardly are ferocious wolves out to deceive
professing Christians into following the lies and to rejecting the truth of God’s
word.
Therefore, there are many professers of faith in Jesus
Christ who give lip service to God but who deny him in practice by how they
live, and by their deeds and by their words. As well, there are many who
profess to believe in the God of Abraham, but who deny who God is – Father, Son
(Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. So, all who deny the trinity, and all who deny
that Jesus is the Christ (God the Son), the Promised seed of Abraham, are
antichrist. Thus, this includes the physical nation of Israel which denies
Jesus as Christ.
Now, when it says here that “they went out from us,” this is
not speaking of just a physical departure from the fellowship of believers in
Jesus Christ, but this is speaking of a departure from the faith in Jesus
Christ, in practice. And this is NOT talking about Christians who have left the
gatherings of the institutional market-driven and flesh-driven “churches” here
in America today. For they are obeying the Lord in departing from these gatherings
which are giving honor to men and not to God as Lord of their lives.
See these verses: [1
Corinthians 1:10-17; John 2:13-17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Revelation 18:1-5]
For, just because
people call it “church,” it doesn’t make it “the church.” For the church is
comprised of all, who by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, have been
crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to
walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. They have died with Christ to sin so that they will no longer
live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So all
who depart from this are those who are antichrist.
[Rom 6:1-23; Rom
8:1-14; Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23; Tit 2:11-14; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Rom
12:1-2; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Pet 2:24]
And please note here
what this says, especially in relation to the physical nation of Israel. It
says that “no one who denies the Son has the Father also.” Please take note of
that. The Jewish nation, as a nation, denies Jesus as the Christ, and therefore
they deny God the Father, too, the God of Abraham. Thus, they are not the
children of God. They are not presently God’s chosen people, his holy nation.
But they are antichrist. So we are not to give them our loyalty and devotion
and support nor trust.
Yet, we who profess
faith in Jesus Christ, if we do not adhere to our Lord and to his commands, and
if we walk in the ways of the flesh, and not in the ways of the Spirit, and if
sin is our practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord and to his
commandments (New Covenant) are not what we practice, then we, too, are
antichrist. We are not born of God. We are of the devil. We don’t have the life
of Christ living within us, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.
Heaven will not be our final resting place.
So why did John give
us these warnings? It is so that we will not be deceived by liars and deceivers
who are trying to convince us either that we are to be more like the Jews and
that we should give the Jews our loyalty and devotion, or that we can “believe”
in Jesus Christ once, have all our sins forgiven, and be on our way to heaven
convinced nothing can take that away from us, and yet continue in deliberate
and habitual sin against God. Both of these teachings are antichrist and are to
be forsaken and avoided.
So, please be
students of the Scriptures, particularly those under the New Covenant we have
with God, for that is where we are now in biblical history. And please read
them in context so that you aren’t guilty of removing them from their context
and applying them in a way that is contrary to what is actually being taught.
Follow Jesus with your lives and not humans, no matter who they are. And then
walk in holiness and righteousness and in obedience to the Lord, and you will
have eternal life with God.
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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