Reference: I John 2:18-19
Many people today may say and believe thatwe are living in the very last remaining days, but to confront them with whatthe Bible truly has to say in reguards to the condition that most people willbe in, this is a truth that very few will actually receive as being scriptural.
As an illustration to what I mean we canread what it tells us in the book of Revelation about how the beast will have deceived the entire worldcausing most people to take the mark of the beast and to worship his image, andI'll guarantee that the greatest majority of people will not accept and believethe truth about this matter as the word of God reveals it.
The most common belief in the religiousworld on the subject of the anti-christ is that this is something to take placemany years yet in the future. The teaching is saying that there will be acertain individual that will raise up from among the people and this individualwill be the anti-christ that will rule the world by being the head of a oneworld church.
Now this view is looking at the endtimewith a carnal attitude. What most people fail to realize is that theanti-christ that the scriptures speaks about is not a fleshly man, but israther a spirit.
Our text of IJohn 2:18-19 we are told thatthe anti-christ spirit was already in the world even at that time when theapostles were preaching. I want you to notice carefully that John tells us thatthe anti-christ is a spirit and this spirit can and does indwell a personcausing them to be an anti-christ.
Most people today do not understand whatthe anti-christ is and just exactly what it means to be an anti-christ. Lookingup the word anti- we find that it means to be against. Since this wordis used before the word christ, this simply means that an anti-christ person isagainst Jesus Christ.
Now Jesus himself said that a person iseither for him or against him. If you are against Christ then you are what theBible calls an anti-christ. Now I would say that most people knows that to bean anti-christ means to be against Christ, but what most people are totallyignorant of is just exactly what it means to be truly against Christ.
The average person today has been led tobelieve that to be against Christ means that a person does not believe in himand that he was a man that walked on this earth hundreds of years ago, butfriend, this is only a small portion of what it really means to be againstChrist. There are utterly millions of people today who may confess to believein Christ and that he lived and walked on this earth and also that he was theSon of God and still be proven to be anti-christ.
To be an anti-christ means of course to beagainst Christ, but what most people are failing to take under consideration isthe fact that Christ is the Word of God. So to really get to the bottom of thematter, to be an anti-christ simply means to be against the truth of God's holyword. If you are against the truth, of which ninety some percent of peopletoday are, then you are what the Bible calls anti-christ. Now the question isin order to prove who is anti-christ and who is not then we must know what thetruth is that most people are rejecting that will prove them to be anti-christ.We find today that the subject of religion is a very much disputed subject. Thisis true because Jesus said that in the last days there would be many falseprophets rising and would deceive many.
These false prophets have risen andproclaimed many things that is absolutely not in accord with what the Bibletruly teaches. Now the average person today will not take issue on scripturalteachings thinking to do so will prove that one is a fanatic and causingtrouble.
There are many preachers in the land todaypreaching things that are totally opposite to what the average church hastaught for many years. The average church member today couldn't care less as towhat is being preached, because they believe that since they are a member ofsome organized church that this makes them secure and arguing over doctrine isnot necessary.
What most people are ignorant of is thefact that being against all form of doctrine is in reality proving them to be avery possible candidate for being an anti-christ. According to what the Biblesays, the truth will be hated and utterly despised.
If you reject a certain teaching withoutknowing for sure that it's a Bible truth, then you are an anti-christ. Now Iwould say that the average person today is not in the least concerned aboutwhat is truth and what is not. Attempting to tell the average confessingchristian today just exactly what the Bible says on doctrinal matters will justabout every time prove they are of the anti-christ, not caring what is truthand what is not.
There are many things being proclaimedtoday in the realm of religion that the average person will actually blaspheme.There is much controversy today on the subject of water baptism as to what waya person should be baptized, whether it should be done in title form of Father,Son, and Holy Ghost or done in the name of Jesus Christ. There are millions ofpeople today who will actually call you of the devil if you baptize in the nameof Jesus Christ. Many will say that what Peter said in Acts 2:38 was for the Jewsonly and thus prove they are totally against being baptized that way.
The Bible plainly teaches that waterbaptism must be done in the name of Jesus Christ, but very few there are thatwill accept this truth today. If you refuse to accept this truth then you areproven to be of the anti-christ spirit. If water baptism is scripturally provento be done in the title form of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and a personrejects it, then they also are proven to be anti-christ.
There is only one way that the Biblereveals as to how a person must be baptized, but the average person today isnot concerned enough to want to know the truth of the matter. Taking a standfor what the Bible truly teaches will cause the people to hate and despise you.The reason for this is simply because that the anti-christ spirit dominates inthe world of religious organizations and other groups and bodies.
The religious world today is yet lookingfor the anti-christ to come, not realizing it was in the world even in the daysof the apostles. The anti-christ spirit is an anti-word spirit of which mostpeople fail to realize. This is why the anti-christ spirit will so cleverly andso easily deceive the entire world causing them to take the mark of the beastand worship his image. Anytime you reject a certain teaching then you better besure that it's not truth that you are rejecting.
To reject truth is also rejecting Christbecause he is the WAY, the LIFE, and the TRUTH. If you are against truth thenyou are against Christ thus proving you are of the anti-christ. If you fail toconfess that Christ is come in the flesh, then you are anti-christ failing tobelieve him.