The Spirit of Antichrist

The gospel of the kingdom that is being preached is Christ living in His believers by His Spirit. This indwelling of Christ in the soul guarantees us salvation and eternal life. In other words, it is “Christ in you” that turns a sinner into a saint. Concerning this teaching, Paul calls it the mystery which is of God which is hidden for ages and has now been revealed to the believers in Christ.

Colossians 1:25-27 “Wherefore I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (26) even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: (27) to whom God would make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

To every fibre of truth, the arch deceiver seeks to counterfeit or introduce a strange idea that either closely resembles the truth or that is diametrically opposed to it. For instance, the false teaching about death is so similar to the biblical teaching that it is very easy for people to be misled. On the other hand, the issue of idolatry is clearly spelt out in the Bible that it is opposed to the will of God but the devil has succeeded in causing the world to believe that idolatry is perfectly alright.

Satan has not left any stone unturned and has corrupted the truth about the Kingdom of God and in the process, many are led to believe and teach a lie. Paul warns of this lie, concerning the gospel of the kingdom, in his second letter to the Thessalonians wherein he called it “the mystery of iniquity.”

2 Thessalonians 2:7 “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”

What is the core issue of this mystery that Paul writes to the Thessalonians? What are the events leading to the fruition of this mystery? And what does Paul refer to when he speaks of this mystery?

MXLLS

A grave misconception regarding the second coming of Christ pervaded among the believers in Thessalonica. There were some who began to teach that they were living at the very end of time and that Christ was soon to come.

The Christians were distressed at this sudden news and they began taking rash steps to prepare for this event. Paul took the liberty to calm their nerves by reminding what he had told them in the past about events that should take place in the future which, in turn, would usher in the second coming of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2) that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (4) who oposseth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

Paul, in verse 3, says that the second coming shall be preceded by two main events – the falling away and the revelation of the man of sin.

THE FALLING AWAY

The falling away, as spoken of by Paul, is the fall of the Christian church from the truth that distinguishes it from the popular religions of the day. To understand what exactly this falling away refers to, firstly a correct biblical understanding of who or what a Christian is, is necessary. Secondly, we shall briefly touch upon the history of the early church.

Who is Christian?

What qualifies a person to be considered a Christian is not a mere profession of faith in Christ. It is neither a status of belonging to a certain denomination and following a certain set of creeds. A Christian is one in whom Christ dwells. The indwelling of Christ in the soul by His Spirit is what makes a person a Christian. Christ can live in us only when we surrender ourselves to Him and in this process, we belong to Him. However, the opposite is true of a non-believer.

Romans 8:9 “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

Establishment of the Church

The establishment of the Christian church began when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost, 31 AD, ten days after the ascension of Christ. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus kept emphasizing the fact that He would dwell in the hearts of the believers. In speaking of the promised Comforter, the Spirit of truth, Christ said that He (the Comforter) now dwelled with the disciples and in the future would dwell in their hearts.

John 14:16, 17 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; (17) even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because the world seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

In speaking of the Comforter, Christ was referring to Himself, for in verse 18 of that same chapter, He said that He would not leave the disciples comfortless. In verse 23, He further reiterates that He and the Father would together make Their abode with the believer.

The Fall of Lucifer and Man

For as long as the spirit of man is united to the Spirit of God and of Christ, man is considered righteous. It is when man wilfully separates himself from God and His Son that he becomes a sinner. Sin is a state of being separated from God. Outside of God, there exists only evil.

Lucifer and his angels, Adam and Eve became sinners the moment they separated themselves from God. Their unbelief caused them to focus on themselves and what they were capable of achieving, outside of their Maker. They began to think that even without God they can remain good and undefiled. Notice the “I WILL” in this passage in Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which dist weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.”

1st Century Christianity

The same problem that we just read in Isaiah that destroyed Lucifer, was the same problem that began to plague the 1st century Christians. For the first fifteen to twenty years of the Christian Church, Christ was preached and promoted. As long as the focus was on Him, miracles were performed and the church was in perfect unity. But it would not take long for the agents of Satan to bring in strange doctrines and ideas that would adversely undermine the pure essence of the gospel.

Council of Jerusalem

Among the believers of the early church, were the Pharisees. They insisted that, having Christ alone, could not guarantee a person salvation. A believer, whether Jew or Gentile, was required to keep the ordinances of the Mosaic law if he could ever have the hope of gaining eternal life. In other words, the focus was now shifted to human works and efforts as means of salvation. This was not the gospel preached by Christ and His apostles. This caused a great row within the church and there was a danger that it could split on account of this issue. Therefore, the need to call a general meeting of all the elders, apostles and the leading members of the church arose, to discuss the problems pertaining to this issue.

Acts 15:1,5 “And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

(5) “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them and to keep the law of Moses.”

Acts chapter fifteen records the affair of the council of the church leaders that was convened at Jerusalem. A heated discussion and debate took place at the council. The council was divided into two camps. The first one was the one mentioned in the above texts (Acts 15:1,5) who supported the idea of salvation by the works of the law whereas, the other camp, spearheaded by the likes of Paul, Peter, Barnabas, advocated the idea of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.

After much discussion, a final decision was reached. It was decided that the Gentile believers were exempted from observing the law of Moses but the Jewish believers were made, by obligation, to observe these laws. But at the same time, the Gentiles were instructed to abstain from the consumption of animals whose meat was offered to idols, blood, and meat of animals that were killed by strangling, and from fornication. However, even in the decision concerning how the Gentiles were to carry themselves, there was no mention of Christ and His merits.

Acts 15:19,20 “Wherefore, my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from the Gentiles are turned to God: (20) but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.”

Another Gospel

But years after this council, the Pharisees and those that backed their theology, continued to demand the Gentile believers to observe the Mosaic laws. This is evident from the letter that Paul wrote to the church at Galatia which composed mostly of Gentile members. Paul openly declared in this letter that the believers were “soon removed” from the gospel that was originally preached to them by him. The Galatians began to believe and teach that it was necessary, in order to be saved, to be circumcised and observe the laws of Moses. Paul brands this heresy as “another gospel.”

Galatians 1:6-12 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (7) which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which have been preached unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you other than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (10) For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet please men, I should not be a servant of Christ. (11) But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. (12) For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The gospel that Paul preached was by revelation of Jesus Christ. It is therefore logical to conclude that the same gospel that Christ preached was also preached by Paul.

Doctrine of the Anti-christ.

As the church sank deeper and deeper into this heresy, it began to believe that Christ was not the only way to salvation; that there were other roads leading to the ultimate goal of salvation. As time elapsed, their teaching evolved into one that advocated the idea that CHRIST IS NO LOGER THE WAY TO SALVATION!!!!

To remain consistent with this error, a popular idea that Christ no longer lives in the believer began to hold sway! Paul declared that this mystery of iniquity was already at work in his time. Peter and John also spoke of this issue.

2 Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon them swift destruction.”

Peter warns that these false prophets and teachers are denying Jesus Christ. We shall take a closer look at this in a little while. But first, John refers to these false prophets and teachers as antichrists who preach another gospel which is contrary to the gospel of Christ.

1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; where-by we know that it is the last time.”

Here John says that there is not one, but many antichrists. What are these “damnable heresies” that the antichrists teach?

1 John 4:3 “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof we have heard that it should come; and even now already is in the world.”

2 John 7 “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

In both these passages, John speaks in the present tense. He says that the antichrist doctrine advocates that Christ “is not come in the flesh.” This is not speaking of Christ not becoming a man. What John is saying is that the antichrists teach that Christ does not live in the believer. (“is not come in the flesh.”) In other words, the “another gospel” is not “Christ in you.” It is rather the law that holds a more prominent place than the Giver of the law. The outcome is a legalistic, Christ-less and an atheistic religion.

This corrupted gospel is in line with the doctrine of the trinity which promotes the idea that, it is not Christ but someone else, called God the Holy Spirit, that lives in you. This doctrine takes away Christ from the believer. When Christ is no longer part of out lives, His victory is not ours. What we are expected to do, is to try, solely by our efforts, to gain that victory. What we may not be aware is that we plunge deeper into utter hopelessness and a never-ending struggle against sin.

THE MAN OF SIN

The concept of righteousness by works is in harmony with the current popular idea that man no longer needs God because he thinks he has the ability to be good without God. But the Bible teaches us that “there is none good but one, that is, God.” (Matthew 19:17)

New Age Religion

It is interesting to note that the new age movement or religion teaches that man is divine. In order that his divine traits should manifest themselves, all that this man needs to do is to meditate and channel this energy which is inside of him. This pretty much explains why yoga has become such a popular sport throughout the world.

Denying the Father and Son

One of the chief reasons that caused Lucifer to rebel against God was because he believed that he could remain good, and perhaps even better without Him. He has injected this idea into our minds. If this idea is true, would we still feel that we need God? This is what the antichrists taught and are still teaching the world

today. Here is something more about what John says about the antichrist.

1 John 2:22,23 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (23) Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowlegeth the Son hath the Father also.”

Notice what John says. He first asks the question if the liar or the antichrist denies that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah. He gives the answer in the next sentence, that the liar or the antichrist is one who does not deny that Jesus is the Christ but he denies the Father and the Son. How does he deny the Father and the Son? Verse 23 spells that out for us. John says that the antichrist denies the Father and Son by not acknowledging the Son. Which means that he does not allow Them entrance into his life because he does not acknowledge that God has the power to turn a sinner into a saint. This explains the warning that Peter gives in 2 Peter 2:1.

A demonstration of this attitude is found in the Pharisees who were ‘converted’ to Christianity. These men accepted Christianity because they believed that Jesus, whom they crucified, was the Christ. But at the same time, they denied Him entrance into their lives. If Christ is not found living in the heart, the Father also is not found dwelling in the heart. As a consequence, the Pharisees lived a God-less life. Why did they choose such a path? Because they, like Lucifer, thought that they were self-sufficient. This attitude which persisted among certain members of the early church gave birth to the man of sin. In fact, John termed such members as those who were not of the church. To put it in simple words, these false brethren were not Christians but only appeared to be so, on the outside.

The Origins of Popery

Let us take one last look at Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians concerning the man of sin.

2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (4) who oposseth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

The man of sin declares himself to be God! In other words, this man says that he does not need God to be good. So, whatever he says or do, no one dares to raise a finger in opposition to him for fear of being ridiculed. This same scenario was displayed in the council of Jerusalem.

Even after Peter, Paul and Barnabas had given their testimony that the Holy Spirit was poured out to the Gentile believers, who never had to observe the laws and the ordinances of the Jewish economy, the council could not arrive at a decision because the camp of the Pharisees ignored all evidences that proved that they were wrong. It was until one man stood up and declared what he thought the best solution to the problem was, that the debate ceased and a decision made. This man was James, the brother of Jesus. The church leaders now held this man in high esteem and considered him as the head of the church simply because he was tied to Christ by blood.

Christ did not ordain that the church should replace Him as its leader. But sadly, this was what happened. By shifting their focus away from Christ and diverting their attention to that which is holy, just and good (the law), they began to lose sight of the true Head of the church. They eventually elected a mere mortal as its new head to replace the true Head. Thus, it was in the council that the church leaders sowed the seed of what would later evolve into the office of the pope! It is no surprise that whoever occupies this office, declares himself as one who is equal to God or, sometimes, God Himself.

What about those who are not part of Catholicism? It is true that the churches that have broken off from the Catholic system do not have a pope to rule over their conscience. But the fact remains that even in these organisations, the people are taught to look up to the pastors and the leaders for guidance. Their focus is turned away from the Him who is the way, the truth and the life. The question is: Can the pope or the pastor save you?

Many Antichrists

Another point that we should take note of is that there are many antichrists. I grew up to be taught that the antichrist is exclusively the office of the pope. This is contrary to the Bible. ‘Antichrist’ is a term used to collectively call those who teach that Christ does not live in the believer. (see 1 John 1:18; 2 John 7). One does not have to be a pope or a pastor or even a trinitarian, for that matter, to be an antichrist and the man of sin. The Pharisees were not trinitarians. James was neither a pope nor a pastor. All one needs to do is to believe and teach that one is self-sufficient and that, by one’s own strength, one can live the law. Remember, you cannot live the law without the Living Law living in you.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

“But the anointing that which ye have received of him that abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” (1 John 2:27)

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