Thursday; December 17

We throw around a lot of religious words – some of which society understands others are a bit more obscure. Typically, people grasp the concepts of faith, forgiveness and peace – and many even capture the nuances of love. Yet, there is another word that many people tend to misunderstand, and that mix-up has caused quite a bit of confusion. The word is the antichrist. Often, when people imagine the antichrist, they either envision some mythical monster with 666 tattooed on their forehead or an evil influence armed with the purpose and power of destroying the God’s people. Yet, when we look at the New Testament use of the phrase, the imagery is a bit less intimidating, but a lot more deceptive.
The word “antichrist” is used exclusively in the writings of John (in I and II John) and is applied both singularly and plural. It is used of those who will come the future, as well as those who were influencing the world during John’s day. Yet, maybe one of the most significant applications of the word is not that the antichrist(s) will come from the outside world to influence the church, rather they already seem to be inside the church. In fact, John warns that these influences are venturing out from the church and spreading their message into the world when he notes, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (II John 1:7). But, what are they teaching? Simply put, it appears that John is labeling and condemning those who were teaching a skewed perspective of Jesus. John corrected this false teaching and taught that Jesus came from heaven – as God – and lived on earth – as man. He is holy because of this unique place in the world.

We should be cautious of the antichrists. No, not because they are some scary monster or a sleezy politician … rather, because they are someone who should know the truth, but is in the world preaching a lie.
Think About It!

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