That Spirit of Antichtrist
by
Pastor C.O. Stadsklev
At no time since the founding of this nation have Christian people been confronted with such subtle and clever propaganda to abandon the Christian faith as we are today.
The first sign and the first warning the Lord gave the disciples when they said, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you.: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows (Mark 13:4-8).
We hear much about wars and rumours of wars. And many sermons are being preached on how the whole world is being divided into “kingdom against kingdom,” with “nation...against nation.”
We hear of strange and unusual weather with its earthquakes, famines, and trouble. But little is said about the one thing we were to be aware of lest we be deceived—the one thing we can do something about; namely, the deception of false Christs, Antichrists, or those who ignore Christ.
The Apostle John in I John 2:18,22-24 wrote: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now thee are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time...Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ: He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you whcih ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” While Christian people have speculated and argued about who the antichrist is, the many antichrists who were active even in John’s time have been allowed to do their destructive work. John very clearly states “He that denieth that Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist” or the false and counterfeit Christ.
In view of what Jesus said about false Christs and in view of what we read in I John, it is apparent that it is religious doctrines or teachings denying the deity of Jesus Christ that Christians were to be aware of rather than some individual antichrist.
The expression “the Antichrist” is not found in the Scriptures. This fact is further established by reading I John 4:1-3: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof we have heard that it should come; and even now is already in the world.”
A false prophet, according to John, is a religious teacher that does not teach the Deity and Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ. John also states that there is a spirit of antichrist. As there is the Spirit of Christ in and among born again believers so there is the spirit of antichrist in and among those whose religion denies the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, and that spirit is a lying and deceiving spirit.
It is this antichrist spirit and antichrist doctrine that Christians must expose, and that Christians must be aware of, and not so much some future individual Antichrist. The fact that Christians have accused one another of being false prophets because they did not see eye to eye on prophecy and minor church doctrines has served the purpose of the many antichrists very well.
As Christians we never have and never will be in perfect agreement on the interpretation of prophecy and other matters pertaining to the Christian faith wherein there are constant progressive revelations, but we must, if we are to be Christian, believe in what John in II John calls “the doctrine of Christ.”
We quote II John, verses 7 through 11: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
As every thoughtful person can readily see and understand, the unprecedented and often uncalled for emphasis on brotherhood, tolerance and indiscrimination can be very effective in causing Christians to repudiate the doctrine of Christ, and as Jesus warned, be used as an entering wedge for both the doctrine and the spirit of antichrist.
While the foundation of God standeth sure, and the Christian faith can never be destroyed, people can be deceived and confused as to what constitutes the Christian faith; and while the foundation standeth sure, it is possible that well-meaning people may be persuaded to abandon the Rock of Ages and venture out into the quicksand of pagan and antichrist theories and philosophies.
No man in the history of the Christian faith was more intolerant and discriminating than the Apostle Paul when it came to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In I Corinthians 16:22 Paul wrote the following: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (accursed) Maranatha”.
In Galatians chapter 1 verses 6 through 10 Paul wrote: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men,? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of CHRIST. “ Note Paul’s emphasis on Christ.
Christ, His virgin birth, His blood atonement, and His literal and bodily resurrection is the heart of the Christian faith. No compromise can ever be made on these basic doctrines.
by
Pastor C.O. Stadsklev
At no time since the founding of this nation have Christian people been confronted with such subtle and clever propaganda to abandon the Christian faith as we are today.
The first sign and the first warning the Lord gave the disciples when they said, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you.: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows (Mark 13:4-8).
We hear much about wars and rumours of wars. And many sermons are being preached on how the whole world is being divided into “kingdom against kingdom,” with “nation...against nation.”
We hear of strange and unusual weather with its earthquakes, famines, and trouble. But little is said about the one thing we were to be aware of lest we be deceived—the one thing we can do something about; namely, the deception of false Christs, Antichrists, or those who ignore Christ.
The Apostle John in I John 2:18,22-24 wrote: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now thee are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time...Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ: He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you whcih ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” While Christian people have speculated and argued about who the antichrist is, the many antichrists who were active even in John’s time have been allowed to do their destructive work. John very clearly states “He that denieth that Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist” or the false and counterfeit Christ.
In view of what Jesus said about false Christs and in view of what we read in I John, it is apparent that it is religious doctrines or teachings denying the deity of Jesus Christ that Christians were to be aware of rather than some individual antichrist.
The expression “the Antichrist” is not found in the Scriptures. This fact is further established by reading I John 4:1-3: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof we have heard that it should come; and even now is already in the world.”
A false prophet, according to John, is a religious teacher that does not teach the Deity and Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ. John also states that there is a spirit of antichrist. As there is the Spirit of Christ in and among born again believers so there is the spirit of antichrist in and among those whose religion denies the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, and that spirit is a lying and deceiving spirit.
It is this antichrist spirit and antichrist doctrine that Christians must expose, and that Christians must be aware of, and not so much some future individual Antichrist. The fact that Christians have accused one another of being false prophets because they did not see eye to eye on prophecy and minor church doctrines has served the purpose of the many antichrists very well.
As Christians we never have and never will be in perfect agreement on the interpretation of prophecy and other matters pertaining to the Christian faith wherein there are constant progressive revelations, but we must, if we are to be Christian, believe in what John in II John calls “the doctrine of Christ.”
We quote II John, verses 7 through 11: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
As every thoughtful person can readily see and understand, the unprecedented and often uncalled for emphasis on brotherhood, tolerance and indiscrimination can be very effective in causing Christians to repudiate the doctrine of Christ, and as Jesus warned, be used as an entering wedge for both the doctrine and the spirit of antichrist.
While the foundation of God standeth sure, and the Christian faith can never be destroyed, people can be deceived and confused as to what constitutes the Christian faith; and while the foundation standeth sure, it is possible that well-meaning people may be persuaded to abandon the Rock of Ages and venture out into the quicksand of pagan and antichrist theories and philosophies.
No man in the history of the Christian faith was more intolerant and discriminating than the Apostle Paul when it came to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In I Corinthians 16:22 Paul wrote the following: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (accursed) Maranatha”.
In Galatians chapter 1 verses 6 through 10 Paul wrote: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men,? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of CHRIST. “ Note Paul’s emphasis on Christ.
Christ, His virgin birth, His blood atonement, and His literal and bodily resurrection is the heart of the Christian faith. No compromise can ever be made on these basic doctrines.