Saturday, 27. September 2008, 12:44:32
" You have heard that the antichrist is coming , " wrote the inspired apostle long ago . ( 1 John 2: 18 ) How intriguing those words are ! For centuries , people have pondered their meaning . Who is the antichrist ? When will he come ? What he will do when he does come ?
The list of those charged with being the antichrist is a long one. In the past, those labeled " antichrist " included Jews , the Catholic papacy , and Roman emperors . For example, when Emperor Frederick II ( 1194-1250 ) chose not to join a Crusade on behalf of the church , Pope Gregory IX named him the antichrist and excommunicated him . Gregory' s successor , Innocent IV , excommunicated him again . In response , Frederick declared Innocent to be an antichrist .
The apostle John is the only Bible writer to use the word " antichrist." In two of the letters bearing his name , the word appears five times , in both the singular and the plural .
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE ANTICHRIST
" Young children , it is the last hour [ evidently the end of the apostolic period ] , and , just as you have
heard that antichrist is coming , even now there have come to be many antichrist ."
- 1 John 2: 18 .
" Who is the liar if it is not the one that denies that Jesus is the Christ ? This is the antichrist , the one that denies the Father and the Son ."
- 1 John 2: 22 .
" Every inspired expression that does not confess Jesus does not originate with God . Furthemore , this is the antichrist' s inspired expression which you have heard was coming , and now it is already in the world ."
- 1 John 4: 3 .
" Many decievers have gone forth into the word , persons not confessing Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh . This is the deciever and the antichrist ."
- 2 John 7 .
From these verses , we can see that the antichrist is a liar and a deciever , bent on destroying a per-son' s relationship with Christ and with God . Accordingly , the apostle urged his fellow Christians: " Belo-ved ones , do not believe every inspired expression , but test the inpired expressions to see whether they originate with God , because many false prophets have gone forth into the world ." - 1John 4: 1.
Jesus too warned against deciev- ers , or false prophets , saying : " [ They ] come to you in sheeps covering , but inside they are rav-enous wolves . By their fruits , [ or works ] you will recognize them ." (Matt. 7: 15 , 16 ) Was Jesus also warning his followers against the figurative antichrist ?
Till next issue....
