Announcement

Collapse

Deeper Waters Forum Guidelines

Notice – The ministries featured in this section of TheologyWeb are guests of this site and in some cases not bargaining for the rough and tumble world of debate forums, though sometimes they are. Additionally, this area is frequented and highlighted for guests who also very often are not acclimated to debate fora. As such, the rules of conduct here will be more strict than in the general forum. This will be something within the discretion of the Moderators and the Ministry Representative, but we simply ask that you conduct yourselves in a manner considerate of the fact that these ministries are our invited guests. You can always feel free to start a related thread in general forum without such extra restrictions. Thank you.

Deeper Waters is founded on the belief that the Christian community has long been in the shallow end of Christianity while there are treasures of the deep waiting to be discovered. Too many in the shallow end are not prepared when they go out beyond those waters and are quickly devoured by sharks. We wish to aid Christians to equip them to navigate the deeper waters of the ocean of truth and come up with treasure in the end.

We also wish to give special aid to those often neglected, that is, the disabled community. This is especially so since our founders are both on the autism spectrum and have a special desire to reach those on that spectrum. While they are a special emphasis, we seek to help others with any disability realize that God can use them and that they are as the Psalmist says, fearfully and wonderfully made.

General TheologyWeb forum rules: here.
See more
See less

What The Bible Says About The Antichrist

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • What The Bible Says About The Antichrist

    What do we know about this figure from Scripture?

    The link can be found here.

    -----

    What does Scripture say about this figure? Let's plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

    My wife and I have been reading 1 John at night lately. She's a futurist, though not one who believes in a rapture, and I'm an orthodox Preterist. We don't really debate it at all. If she comes to Preterism, I want it to be because she studied the Scripture and not because I pressured her. Anyway, reading the Johannine epistles leads to talk about the antichrist at times.*

    So what do the epistles say about this figure?

    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. 1 John 2:18
    Something to note is that it says antichrist is coming and not THE antichrist is coming. That might seem like a small distinction, but it is still something. There is no speaking of one figure in all of this as the antichrist. In fact, many have come and because they are here, we know it is the last hour. John says this twice. He doesn't want you to miss it. The last hour is here now because many antichrists have come.

    Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the*antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22
    At this point, we do have the antichrist, but what does it say about the antichrist? The antichrist*is he who denies the Father and the Son. In other words, anyone who denies Jesus is the Christ is the antichrist. This fits in with what Jesus said. You are either for Him or against Him. You are either pro-Christ or antichrist. There is no middle ground.

    and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the*antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 1 John 4:3
    And now antichrist is referred to as a spirit. The antichrist*spirit is the spirit that does not confess that Jesus is from God. Note also that once again, this is in the world already. That which is opposed to Christ is already lined up in opposition against Him.

    For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the*antichrist. 2 John 1:7
    And here we have more of the same. Anyone who denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is the antichrist and deceiver. This would be the way to see the Gnostic and docetic heresies of the time that denied the bodily incarnation of Jesus.

    But I know some already have objections.

    What about the beast in the book of Revelation?! What about the Man of Lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2? What about Daniel 9:24-27? What about the abomination that causes desolation?

    Good questions. Here's why we don't look at those.

    Nowhere are these figures described as "The antichrist." Now they could possibly be a figure known as the antichrist, but someone who thinks that needs to show it. You don't just jump over to 2 Thess. 2 and assume this is the same figure talked about in the Johannine epistles. If you think it is, then you need to demonstrate that.*

    Ultimately, something that bothers me so much about people caught up in end times paranoia is that they spend so much time focusing on the antichrist that they seem to lose sight of Christ. Too many are so busy trying to figure out who the antichrist is that they don't take the time to think about who Jesus is. What the Bible says about who Jesus is blows out of the water anything said about who the antichrist is. Which one should our focus be?

    Which one is your focus?

    In Christ,
    Nick Peters

  • #2
    John says that the antichrist denies that Jesus came in the flesh. (2 John 7) Makes me wonder if he was talking about the docetists, precursors of the gnostics, both of whom believed that the flesh was sinful and therefore Jesus did not come in the flesh. Those heresies didn't really have names yet; they were so new.
    When I Survey....

    Comment

    Related Threads

    Collapse

    Topics Statistics Last Post
    Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-15-2024, 10:19 PM
    14 responses
    74 views
    1 like
    Last Post rogue06
    by rogue06
     
    Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-13-2024, 10:13 PM
    6 responses
    60 views
    0 likes
    Last Post Apologiaphoenix  
    Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-12-2024, 09:36 PM
    1 response
    23 views
    0 likes
    Last Post rogue06
    by rogue06
     
    Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-11-2024, 10:19 PM
    0 responses
    22 views
    2 likes
    Last Post Apologiaphoenix  
    Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-08-2024, 11:59 AM
    3 responses
    44 views
    0 likes
    Last Post whag
    by whag
     
    Working...
    X