Antichrist

Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist comes, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour. 1John 2:18

The word "antichrist" is found in only 4 places in the entire Bible and they are here in the epistles of John! So for centuries folks have been concocting great swelling doctrines of the so-called antichrist and the whole thing is based on 4 verses of Scripture! Talk about mountain/molehill theology. Same thing with Rev 20:2. Only place we find 1000 years; yet men build huge systems of theology based on six verses in a highly symbolic and controversial book! QUESTION; Does this sound like a sound rule of interpretation? The question is...Is there an "antichrist"...that is, one being, be he a person or some other creature, who is to be designated "The antichrist?" Will he be the personification of evil or the devil, as Christ is the personification of God? John does refer to such a being here. At the same time he speaks of the spirit of antichrist which is not necessarily limited to one particular individual. He goes on to describe the characteristics of those who are governed by this spirit.

19 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 they might be made manifest that they all are not of us.

You cannot use this vs to show that people who leave a church are heretic's, or antichrist. Why not? Because of the nature of the New Testament Ekklesia. In NT times there was usually only one group of believers in any given locale. And even if there had been more than one there was no such thing as Denominations. You could not "leave a church" and go to a "different church"! There was no Baptist; Presbyterian... etc churches in existence, although some would like to believe that. In fact, if you study the Greek word "ekklesia" you will discover that there in no "church" at all anywhere in the NT. I have had people tell me that the "Church" spoken of by Messiah in Matt 16 which He came to establish and build was the Presbyterian church! Such a notion is Biblically ludicrous folks! There was only -One- "church" in the NT which was truly non-denominational and no one "joined" it. Rather they were themselves joined to it by the Lord Himself.

Today, if a person leaves one "church" and goes to another that is considered perfectly legitimate and nobody questions his profession of faith! If a person tried that in John'’s day he was accounted antichrist! The "of us" in the vs is a reference, not to the "church of ....." but to the Body Of Christ, for that is the true meaning of "Ekklesia". Anti - meaning opposed to or against. Antifreeze; antinomian; antitype! anti-keto-gensis; Use of a substance to prevent ketosis! Oh yeah, I know what that is.

So who exactly then is... "Thee" antichrist? One would be hard pressed to make a case for "one single individual". Even 2Thes is too ambiguous for that.
But we do have plain language in answer to that question right here in the book of 1John. Notice;

22 Who is the liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, even he that denies the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that confesses the Son hath the Father also.

Plain enough! Anybody who denies that Jesus is the Christ, God's Messiah, that person is antichrist... and there are legion of such people running around claiming to be saved. More..

1John 4:
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 and every spirit that confesses not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it comes; and now it is in the world already.

Clear enough! "Antichrist" is essentially a spirit and not necessarily any one single individual. Many people can and do possess the spirit of antichrist and such people are, in the plural, antichrists.

Pr 30:5 -Every- word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

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