Many\nbelieve the Antichrist will be a literal, global leader but the spirit of\nAntichrist already permeates the world with its corrosive influence. We need keen\nspiritual discernment to recognize and resist it. Jesus warned that the number one\nsign indicating His soon return is mass deception (Mt. 24:4-5). He predicted\ndeception will be so rampant in the last days that even the elect would be\ndeceived \u201cif possible\u201d (Mt. 24:24). Thankfully, those who live by Biblical truth\nand listen to the Holy Spirit will not be deceived. Discernment is \u201cthe ability\nto distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, truth from error, to perceive,\ndetect, or to recognize.\u201d The more familiar we are with a genuine item, the\neasier it is to spot a fake. The more we know and love the true Christ, the\nless vulnerable we will be to the spell of the Antichrist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201cAntichrist\u201d is found five times in Scripture,all in\nJohn\u2019s letters (1 Jn. 2:18, 22; 4:3, 2 Jn. 1:7). It means \u201can opponent of the\nMessiah, one who stands against or in opposition to all Christ represents.\u201d This\nSatanic spirit is the driving force behind the evil in the world. While the Antichrist\nwill be a literal person, the Antichrist spirit influences religions,\ngovernments, education, literature, music, movies, entertainment, and society. The\nspirit of Antichrist is anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-prayer, anti-morality,\nanti-biblical marriage, anti-authority. John explained, \u201cThis is the spirit of the\nAntichrist<\/strong>, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the\nworld\u201d<\/em> (1 Jn 4:3). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the million-dollar question\u2014who is the Antichrist? The Bible doesn\u2019t reveal his identity, but it does provide insight into his nature and agenda.The reason the Bible discusses him is not to foster speculation about his identity but to warn us of his deception. Whenever a villainous leader rises to power, people wonder if he is the Antichrist. Some thought it was Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and many other infamous villains. In the 1980s, some swore Mikhail Gorbachev was the Antichrist due to the strange birthmark on his forehead. Others insisted it was Ronald Wilson Reagan because there were six letters in each of his names equaling 666. This kind of crazy speculation is futile. While the Antichrist could be alive and in power, the Bible states, \u201che will be revealed in his own time\u201d<\/em> (2 Th. 2:6). Meanwhile, it\u2019s more important to recognize the characteristics of the spirit of Antichrist that is working in the world: 2. Efforts to remove and replace God:<\/strong> Paul described the Antichrist as \u201cThe son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped\u201d<\/em> (2 Th. 2:3-4). Again, this spirit is against God and everything good. It\u2019s the spirit behind the efforts to remove \u201cIn God We Trust\u201d from our currency, \u201cone nation under God\u201d from our pledge of allegiance, the Ten Commandments from courtrooms and classrooms, prayer before high school football games and other public events, nativity scenes from public squares, and anything else that honors God in society. Any person, religion, or belief system that denies Jesus is the Christ and physically came in the flesh, or reduces His role in salvation, or exalts man above God is Antichrist (1 Jn. 2:22; 4:1-3, 2 Jn. 7). <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Lawlessness and anarchy: <\/strong>Paul called the Antichrist \u201cthe man of sin\u201d and \u201cthe lawless one\u201d (2 Th. 2: 3, 8, 9, NKJV). This spirit drives the anarchy we see erupting worldwide in crime, rioting, looting, violence, and rebellion against authority. It consumes outlaws who thrive on creating chaos and anarchists who seek to destroy the systems of civilized society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.<\/strong> Mass deception:<\/strong> Paul warned about\nthe Antichrist\u2019s deceit, \u201cThe\ncoming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power,\nsigns, and lying wonders<\/strong>, and with all unrighteous deception<\/strong>\namong those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth,\nthat they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong\ndelusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who\ndid not believe the truth\u201d<\/em>\n(2 Th.\n2:9-12). The masses are swallowing Satan\u2019s lies hook, line, and sinker (Rev.\n12:15-17). Millions believe the lies of evolution, that abortion is not murder,\nthat salvation is optional, that it\u2019s ok to get drunk, use drugs, and have sex\nwith people you\u2019re not married to. Many will believe the damnable lie that the\nAntichrist is god and\/or that they are demigods which will usher in divine judgment\n(Dan. 7:24-27; 8:23-25, Rev. 20:10-15). Daniel 8:25 warns, \u201cThrough\nhis cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule . . . he shall\ndestroy many in their prosperity.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Blasphemy against God and sacred things: <\/strong>\u201cAnd he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies . . . Then\nhe opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His\ntabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven\u201d<\/em> (Rev.\n13:5-6). Blasphemy is \u201cthe\nact of cursing or reviling God, assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of\nGod, or irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred.\u201d People who constantly\nuse profanity have a blasphemous spirit. This often manifests in movies, music,\nand shows which feature frequent cursing and taking God\u2019s name in vain. Blessing\nshould flow from our lips not cursing (Eph. 4:29-31, Jam. 2:8-11). <\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Idolatry\/false worship: <\/strong>There is a global war over worship, a spiritual tug-of-war for the souls of men. God commands our worship and Satan covets our worship. Spurgeon said, \u201cConsider how precious a soul must be when both God and the devil are after it.\u201d If Satan can\u2019t trap people in bondage to sinful lifestyles, he\u2019ll get them mixed up in false religions. Satan tries to prevent our worship, pervert our worship, and\/or pirate our worship for himself. The Antichrist \u201copposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God\u201d <\/em>(2 Th. 2:4). He will deceive and coerce the masses to worship him and take his mark or face execution (Dan. 11:36-37, Rev. 13:15-16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. An ugly, beastly nature:<\/strong> In\nRevelation 13:1-8, the Antichrist is portrayed as a hideous 7-headed, 10-horned\nbeast that rises out of the sea of humanity. Heads and horns speak of kings or\nkingdoms in Bible prophecy indicating that he will control many nations. The scary\nimagery is of a ravenous beast which survives by devouring other things. Daniel\n8:23 (KJV) calls him \u201ca king of fierce countenance\u201d referring to his ruthless\nrule. This shows the ugly nature of man\u2019s kingdoms\u2014cruel, corrupt, bloodthirsty,\npower hungry, brutal, savage. Man\u2019s kingdoms are built by conquest, war, and bloodshed,\nand on the sweat, tears, and taxes of their subjects. Christ\u2019s kingdom is built\non the lamb-like nature of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is there is a restraining force preventing the Antichrist and evil from taking over. \u201cAnd now you know what is restraining<\/strong>, that he may be revealed in his own time . . . only He who now restrains<\/strong> will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed\u201d <\/em>(2 Th. 2:6-8). <\/strong>Notice the personal pronoun \u201cHE.\u201d That restraining force is the Holy Spirit in and through the church. He is using a righteous remnant whose prayers are delaying judgment and restraining evil. Don\u2019t be too worried about the mark of the beast because we\u2019ve already been marked with the blood of Jesus. Plus, symbolically, the name of Jesus is already in our foreheads (Rev. 22:4). As John wrote of the spirit of Antichrist, he prophesied our victory, \u201cYou are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world\u201d<\/em> (1 Jn. 4:4). The Spirit of Christ in us is greater than the spirit of the Antichrist in the world!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many believe the Antichrist will be a literal, global leader but the spirit of Antichrist already permeates the world with its corrosive influence. We need keen spiritual discernment to recognize and resist it. Jesus warned that the number one sign indicating His soon return is mass deception (Mt. 24:4-5). He predicted deception will be so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
1. A demonic hatred against God and His people:<\/strong> John wrote of the Antichrist, \u201cIt was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 13:7). Because Satan hates God and can\u2019t touch Him, he attacks His people instead. The spirit of Antichrist fuels anti-Semitism and persecution against the church. History is soaked with the blood of martyrs who were killed for their love for and loyalty to God. The Pharaohs enslaved and killed Hebrews in ancient Egypt. The Caesar\u2019s of Rome executed Christians for sport. Hitler exterminated six million Jews in his hellish death camps. The same sinister spirit spurs the racial hatred displayed by white supremacists, the KKK, Neo-Nazis, Antifa, ISIS, jihadists, and other radical groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n