There are many enemies to the cross and of Christ Jesus who hung on it, instead of you and I, to be punished for our sins. It seems difficult to understand that the kindest and gentlest man who ever walked the face of the earth would have so many enemies. But as we look around the world today there are many who are against Him.
One person in the Bible was very Anti-Christ; a man who would do anything to wipe His name from the face of the earth and from every memory a person could have of Him. This anti-Christ would walk or ride from town to town with a fire in his belly and legal papers in his hand to do such a thing. When he found those that would follow Christ he would have them arrested, tried, convicted and killed for following Jesus. Nothing that man could do would stop him from his appointed rounds of attempting to wipe out this budding religion.
However, one day as he was “ravaging the church” and still “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” Then like a lightning strike within feet of him he fell to the ground and then heard a voice as clear as day. The “anti-Christ” became “pro-Christ” to spread the message he attempted to silence. We know this man as Paul the apostle, a man who was once feared by individuals of the church, to one who was used by God to grow the church in staggering fashion.
As he once tried to silence the message of Christ now there were people attempting to silence him. There were many attempts on his life but to no avail; what was meant to keep the message from spreading was used to proliferate the message at a much faster rate. The Founder of the Church said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
There is no way that the gospel can ever be silenced no matter what many may try to do to stop it from spreading. His words are eternal and cannot be set aside by that which is temporal. Though man may try through government regulations or other so-called religions the Word of God, the Gospel cannot be silenced. It does not matter how “anti-Christ” a culture may become there is no way to keep the Church from growing because it is not built my man but by Jesus Christ!
According to John the apostle in his first letter to the church of his day warned of many antichrists. “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore 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 it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abode in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He made to us – eternal life” (1 John 2:18-25).
When we look at the immediate context of this passage we observe that the antichrists went out from the church. We might also be able to say that they knew something about the church and its teachings and may have had some influence by the church in some way, shape or form. If one would only skim most of the “popular” religions of the day they seem to parrot Christian principles but deny that Jesus is the Christ. They will accept him as one of many gods or as a prophet but not the Christ or Savior of the world. This by definition is an antichrist.
So Christians ought to be resolute in their belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world and whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. We know the truth, or should know the truth, and if we know the truth then we shall truly be free. But to know the truth and the Giver of truth we must read and study what He had written down for us. When we read and study His revelation of Himself to us then we will know what antichrist looks like and possibly have the privilege of sharing with them the Christ who can save their souls.
Thanks to our Guest Contributor:
Pastor Ray Peters
Harvest Alliance Church
