Anti Christ

Since I was a young child, I’ve heard a great many things about “The Antichrist.” Everyone from Hitler to Atilla to Stalin has been accused of being “The Antichrist.” I can remember when Ronald Reagan was running for President. I was a very young boy and my friends were convinced, and had convinced me, that Ronald Reagan was “The Antichrist,” and that if he won the race, we would all be doomed. I must admit, I was “scared to death.” Each time there is a tumult in the Mid-East, or another part of the world, someone is accused of being “The Antichrist.” When the Gulf War began, several books were published by religionists on the Revelation of the Bible. Saddam Hussein, of course, was portrayed as “The Antichrist,” and thousands of people in our great nation were terrified.

After reading some of these books, these “Bible teachers” would have us believe that the Antichrist was mentioned on every page of the book of Revelation. The truth of the matter is, the word “antichrist” isn’t even found one time in the book of Revelation. You can read it for yourself and see that this is true. In fact, the word “antichrist” is found only FOUR times in the entire New Testament. It is found three times in John’s first epistle, and once in his second epistle. Allow me to quote the references so that you can learn some facts for yourself about what the Bible teaches about “The Antichrist.”
1 John 2:18-19 "Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 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 none of them were of us.”
1 John 2:22-23 "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
1 John 4:2-3 "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
2 John 1:7 "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."

Notice that an antichrist is defined as one who denies that Jesus was the Christ. Secondly, there were many antichrists living on the earth when John wrote those words almost two thousand years ago. This contradicts the teaching that there is only one “Antichrist,” and that he is someone who will appear in future events. An antichrist is anyone who opposes Christ in any way. The word’s definition is: “Anti” meaning “against,” and “Christ,” meaning “Christ.” Against Christ! Even modern day Jews are antichrists because they clearly deny that Jesus was the Christ. Ever since Christ lived, there have been many antichrists, and sadly, there shall be many more. Don’t you be one!

By Michael Pickford

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