Who Is The Anti-Christ

  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

  But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

  As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

  I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 

                                                                                                            1 John 2:18-27 NIV

So, exactly who is the antichrist? According to St. John the antichrist is anyone who would deny
that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Son also denies the Father. Whoever denies either is a liar and the antichrist.

                                       

Next question: How does one deny that Jesus is the Christ? Response: By trusting in our own good works for our salvation. When we trust the world, ourselves, anything or anyone before Jesus the Christ we are denying him; we are denying his power and authority to save us.

The antichrist is not some mythical being. Generations have looked for this one and pointed their fingers at various political or religious leaders saying, "he is the antichrist; these are the last days." Pointing the finger at one person only distracts us from looking within ourselves to see who it is that actually abides in us. Is it Jesus the Christ or the antichrist?

May the Word of God abide in us and we in him. May God help us to trust Him above all others.

God's Peace - Pr. J

For Christ Or Anti-Christ?

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." (Matt 12:30 NIV)

A friend of mine had hung a poster in her classroom at a juvenile correction facility that read: "If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Jesus said if you are not with him then you are against him. Logic would tell us that if we are not with Jesus then we are the anti-Christ. 

Those who are with him; those who abide in him and he in them actually gather people into the Body of Christ. They are the fishers of men that Jesus promised to make of those who would follow him. (Matt 4:19) So, what about those who are in the habit of attempting (and sometimes succeed) to scatter those who would follow Jesus; of dividing them; or separating them from one another and from the whole Body of Christ? Are they not those who are against Jesus?

Jesus made the statement regarding being with or against him after healing a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute.
     All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
     But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
     Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?"           (Matt 12:23-26)

Indeed, every city or household, every visible church on earth divided against itself is going to have a very rough time standing, if it can. Eventually, if we continue to choose to be against Christ; if we choose to continue to divide and scatter; families, churches, communities, entire kingdoms will fall.

Consider then if you are with Christ or against him. Are you gathering or dividing and scattering?

May we always abide in Christ and he in us that as servants of the most high God we might be part of the solution and not part of the problem. May God use us as instruments of his gathering so that all people might abide in the peace and unity that comes with knowing and being for Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Submit To Authority For The Lord's Sake

Do not use your freedom to sin.

Do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil!

"Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the
supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves." 1 Peter 2:13-16 NIV

This weekend we are celebrating the holiday known as Veterans' Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. We celebrate as not just protests are breaking out across this country; but, riots. There is upheaval because not everyone is willing to accept the results of the process for elections that we have been using for a good many years. I have not always been happy with the results of presidential elections. In fact, I was near tears on a couple of occasions. One of the occasions was when a Republican that I did not care for took office. The other occasion was when a Democrat won. I was very shaken when Ronald Reagan won the election. I was so shaken that I had nightmares. One night, as I was tossing and turning, I came under conviction and I heard this message from the Lord, "Judy, you do not have to like him. But, you do need to respect him." I paid attention and with time I learned that the media had painted him in a really bad light and I had believed them. He was not who they said he was. He was not the anti-Christ and the world did not end.

We do have a democratic process in this country. For good or bad, we have a system and we, the people, have a right to vote. That right came at the expense of many good men and women who fought for our freedoms many long years ago. Our freedoms continue because many good men and women are willing to lay down their lives so that not just we; but, people around the world might live in a just society; free from tyrannical governments and free from the minority of tyrannical people who would trample on the freedoms; the rights, of others to get what they want and to get it now. These freedoms came at a price to others. Let us not take them for granted by abusing them.

We give thanks to God that every citizen of this country is granted certain freedoms and rights under the constitution. But; God, nor does the majority of the country, expect us to use our desire for personal freedom to do whatever we want or to trample on the rights of others. Let all God's people strive to do what is right and not use our freedom as an excuse to do what is wrong. We are not to use our freedom as a cover-up for evil rather we are to strive to do good. We are to strive to be reconciled to one another in Christ Jesus. It is God's will that by doing good the ignorant talk of foolish people will be silenced.

We may not always like everyone and everything; but, may God help this country to learn to love even as God loves us, to respect one another, and to realize that whether we like it or not, God is in charge. Jesus is the true King.

God's Peace - Pr. J